Copy and save the following as eicar.com (yes, it’s an all ASCII .com file):

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

As a sanity check, the file should be 68 bytes long. You can also try running the file, which should print “EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE” to the screen.

Alternatively, you can download eicar.com.txt.