Using virustotal

The virustotal package provides access to the VirusTotal API v3, allowing you to scan files and URLs for malware, get domain and IP intelligence, and retrieve comprehensive threat analysis reports.

Installation

To get the current development version from GitHub:

# Install from CRAN
install.packages("virustotal")

# Or install development version
# library(devtools)
# install_github("themains/virustotal")

Load the library:

library(virustotal)

Authentication

Get your free API key from VirusTotal
Set the API key in your R session:

set_key("your_api_key_here")

Core Functions

File Analysis

Scan a file for malware:

# Submit a file for analysis
result <- scan_file("path/to/suspicious_file.exe")
analysis_id <- result$data$id

Get file analysis report:

# Get analysis results using file hash
report <- file_report("99017f6eebbac24f351415dd410d522d")

# Access scan results
scan_results <- report$data$attributes$last_analysis_results
total_engines <- length(scan_results)
detections <- sum(sapply(scan_results, function(x) x$category == "malicious"))

Request file rescan:

# Request new analysis of existing file
rescan_result <- rescan_file("99017f6eebbac24f351415dd410d522d")
new_analysis_id <- rescan_result$data$id

URL Analysis

Scan a URL:

# Submit URL for analysis
url_result <- scan_url("http://suspicious-site.com")
analysis_id <- url_result$data$id

Get URL analysis report:

# Get analysis results using URL
report <- url_report("http://www.google.com")

# Access scan results
scan_results <- report$data$attributes$last_analysis_results
threat_score <- report$data$attributes$stats

Domain Intelligence

Get domain information:

# Get comprehensive domain analysis
domain_info <- domain_report("google.com")

# Access various data points
categories <- domain_info$data$attributes$categories
whois_data <- domain_info$data$attributes$whois
dns_records <- domain_info$data$attributes$dns_records

IP Address Intelligence

Get IP address information:

# Get IP analysis including geolocation and ASN
ip_info <- ip_report("8.8.8.8")

# Access geo and network information
country <- ip_info$data$attributes$country
asn <- ip_info$data$attributes$asn
network <- ip_info$data$attributes$network

Rate Limiting

The package automatically handles VirusTotal’s rate limits (4 requests per minute for free accounts). You don’t need to implement your own rate limiting.

Error Handling

All functions include comprehensive input validation and will provide clear error messages for common issues like missing API keys or invalid parameters.

Using virustotal

Gaurav Sood

2025-12-15