Checking real-time protection
To verify that real-time protection is working and detecting viruses, use a test file from www.eicar.com. This test file is a harmless file detectable by all antivirus programs. The file was created by the EICAR company (European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research) to test the functionality of antivirus programs.
The file is available for download at http://www.eicar.org/download/eicar.com
After you type this URL into your browser, you should see a message that the threat has been removed.