How could virustotal be useful to users? how could it be useful to security researchers? however, could it also be used by attackers to test their own malware before distributing it to ensure that it does not trigger an av alert? what should be the protections against this?

The answer to this question can be defined as follows:

Explanation:

VirusTotal was its online tool that scans its file for identification for virus and ransomware up to 256 Mb in the file name. You can also scan that virus scan URL/domain. Its content is examined by 70 virus protection scanners. However, it is convenient for customers who would search their files and connections to detect any file or link malicious type of virus protection.

Yeah, security experts should, of course, just use the service because it retrieves the security aspect for files and VirusTotal can scan the data.

Yeah, throughout the case of abuse of a software package, hackers can test their specific malware to insure how an AV alert is not activated, until releasing it. It will ensure that neither warning is triggered mostly by file, malicious document, or link, and thus check its material with VirusTotal.

Security must be taken from of the abuse by the perpetrators of the VirusTotal tool. Security must be in the form of even an assault that perhaps the virus model or malware ties could be uploaded or regulated throughout the VirusTotal Tool resources. So, it isn't essential to be using the VirusTotal tool.