Peekray vs VirusTotal: which should you use?

Side by side

What each one does

Peekray (our tool)VirusTotal

What it is

PeekrayA scam link checker: a Chrome extension (it works in Edge too), a checker on this site and a phone page.

VirusTotalA website that checks files and links with security vendors’ tools, plus browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

What it checks

PeekrayFollows the link to where it really lands, looks it up in three public phishing and malware lists (OpenPhish, PhishTank and URLhaus), and asks Jev, TypeSafe AI’s model, about links no list knows.

VirusTotalOver 70 antivirus scanners and URL and domain blocklists.

What you get

PeekrayWhere the link really goes, and one clear answer such as Safe, Check first or Scam, with the reasons in plain words.

VirusTotalHow many of the vendors flag the link, each vendor’s label and a community score.

Before you click

PeekrayThe extension shows where a link goes when you rest the pointer on it, and asks before a likely scam opens.

VirusTotalIts extension can scan a link from the right-click menu, which opens a report in a new tab. It can also mark web addresses on a page and look them up.

Files

PeekrayNo, links only.

VirusTotalYes: upload a file to have it scanned.

On a phone

PeekrayPaste a text, WhatsApp message or email on the phone page, and it checks the links in it (up to 8).

VirusTotalUse the website in a phone’s browser. VirusTotal doesn’t make its own app; its docs list an unofficial one.

What happens to your link

PeekrayNever sold or used for ads. The extension sends only the link, its text and the page title.

VirusTotalResults are shared with its security partners and visible to its community, and submitted pages may be shared with paying customers. Private scanning is a paid feature.

Price and account

PeekrayFree, with no account.

VirusTotalFree for non-commercial use; some features need a free account. Business use and its premium API are paid.

Keep private links private. Don’t paste private links into VirusTotal, such as password-reset links, shared documents or links with your email address in them: what you submit is shared with its partners and community.