A false alarm occurs when an anti-virus program mistakenly flags an innocent file as infected. This can be costly and cause productivity losses from user downtime and time spent trying to disinfect uninfected files. False alarms happen for reasons such as anti-virus programs making it difficult to analyze protected files, overzealous heuristic detection, and software errors. Common files and programs that tend to trigger false alarms include adware, browser toolbars, and anti-virus software itself. The best way to handle false alarms is to check if the file or program has a trusted security seal from other reputable anti-virus vendors.