Secure File Uploads in Laravel: Validation, Storage & Basic Virus Protection

This article covers a production-ready strategy for secure file uploads in Laravel, including MIME type validation, randomized storage paths, signed URLs, and ClamAV antivirus integration. It explains common attack vectors like malicious file execution, path traversal, and denial of service, then provides layered defenses such as stripping EXIF metadata and storing files outside the public directory.