Is README.md safe?
This longstanding README text file drew no detections from 76 antivirus engines, including 18 clean tier-1 results, and appears in a reference database.
No antivirus engine detected this 7,453-byte README text file, and 18 tier-1 engines reported it clean. Its age, distribution across 56 sources, and reference-database presence strongly support ordinary documentation content, although no runtime or complete host-reputation assessment is available.
05595731cb6b21d3ef…7f012808d33464Recommended next actions
Before opening
Open it only when its sender or download source is one you independently trust.
If you already opened it
Keep normal device protection enabled and stop if the file behaves unexpectedly.
Intelligence
The saved assessment, checked against the scan evidence and recorded coverage.
The reasoning behind this verdict
This section explains the evidence supporting the verdict and keeps conflicting or missing signals visible.
No antivirus engine detected this 7,453-byte README text file, and 18 tier-1 engines reported it clean. Its age, distribution across 56 sources, and reference-database presence strongly support ordinary documentation content, although no runtime or complete host-reputation assessment is available.
The sample is a small README.md text file rather than an executable, and code signing is therefore not applicable. None of 76 antivirus engines reported a malicious or suspicious result, while 18 tier-1 engines returned clean results. The hash has been known for roughly seven years and was submitted from 56 distinct sources, which weighs against a newly introduced threat. A CIRCL RDS.db reference match is present without a known-malicious designation, adding weak benign support. No sandbox run or complete contacted-host reputation check is available, so the conclusion rests on file identity, antivirus results, prevalence, and reference intelligence.
What We Detected
The sample is a 7,453-byte text file named README.md. None of 76 antivirus engines reported it as malicious or suspicious, and 18 tier-1 engines—including BitDefender, ESET-NOD32, Kaspersky, Avast, and McAfee—reported no detection. The hash also appears in CIRCL's RDS.db reference data without a known-malicious designation.
Threat Behavior
No completed sandbox observation is available because behaviour is null. The contacted-host cross-check is also unavailable, so the domains and hosts appearing in third-party annotations cannot be described as comprehensively checked or benign. No malicious child files, YARAify rules, engine family labels, or fired heuristics were reported.
What To Do Now
The evidence is consistent with ordinary README documentation. It can be opened in a plain-text viewer while keeping endpoint protection enabled; if it came with other files, assess those files separately because this result applies only to the stated SHA-256 hash.
Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
- behaviour=null, so there is no completed runtime observation to corroborate the static findings.
- contactedHosts=null, so no complete reputation assessment is available for domains or hosts mentioned in third-party annotations.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- 0/76 antivirus engines reported a malicious or suspicious result.
- 18 tier-1 engines reported no detection.
- CIRCL RDS.db contains the hash without a known-malicious designation.
- The file has been known for 2,660 days and observed from 56 sources.
- The sample is a small README text file, not executable code.
- No completed runtime observation is available.
- No complete contacted-host reputation assessment is available.
Opening this exact hash in a plain-text viewer presents minimal indicated risk. Keep endpoint protection enabled and scan any accompanying archives, scripts, or executables separately.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete0 of 76 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
PartialRuntime data is present, but no completed sandbox environment is recorded.
Network
Not runNo contacted-host reputation check is recorded.
No timestamp recordedYARA
CompleteRule evaluation completed with no recorded matches.
External intel
Complete3 of 3 independent reference sources completed.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
Runtime behavior was not available
The report does not treat a missing runtime observation as a clean result.
Detection & Forensics
Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.
Evidence integrity
Chain of custody for the facts preserved in this report.
- 0rule hits recorded
- 0 / 76engines flagged
- 56sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
0 of 76 antivirus engines flagged the file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 02
The hash appears in a known-software reference database.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceReference software databaseObserved at - 03
No completed runtime observation is available for this file.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceRuntime coverageObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
The available sources did not agree on a named threat category.
One or more independent reference databases matched this hash.
YARA rules
No matchesThe rule pass completed without a saved public match.
0 of 76 engines flagged this file
View all 76 engine results
PE structure
Not applicablePE structure analysis applies to Windows executable formats, not this file type.
How widely this file has been seen
Moderate prevalence — neither rare nor common. No strong prior applies.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- README.md
- Format
- Text
- Code signing
- Not applicable to this file type
- Size
- 7.3 KB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 24, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC
05595731cb6b21d3efce02abcdf912945219ed7580fca37eb17f012808d33464Safety & FAQ
Complete recovery guidance and answers for the next decision.
What to do now
This file appears low risk based on the evidence available now.
- Recovery step 01
Open it only when its sender or download source is one you independently trust.
- Recovery step 02
A clean result reduces known risk, but it cannot guarantee that every new or targeted threat has been detected.
- Recovery step 03
Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on so you stay protected.
Safety FAQ
Direct answers grounded in the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is README.md safe?
What is README.md?
How many antivirus engines detected README.md?
What is the SHA-256 hash of README.md?
Is it safe to open README.md?
How up to date is this analysis of README.md?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.