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Verdict Safe

Analyzed , 1 month ago

Is Bootstrapper.exe safe? Yes, no threats found.

Adobe-signed bootstrapper with a valid signature, used by thousands of sources since 2015, flagged only by one less reliable engine with a generic label.

Read the whole reasonShow less

Strong evidence · Widely seen for a long time, and nothing harmful found.

Run it as usual if it came from the official source

This Adobe-signed bootstrapper appears legitimate. Keep your antivirus enabled, and obtain Adobe installers only from Adobe's official channels.

Good practice2 tips

We found nothing harmful in this file.

  1. Run it only if it came from the developer's own website or an official app store.

  2. Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on.

No scanner can promise a file is 100% safe.

Why we think so

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Bootstrapper.exe: Safe — MalwareTips file scan

The link always shows the latest result for this exact file (its SHA-256 fingerprint).

Reads the latest antivirus results for this file's hash. Nothing is uploaded.

Antivirus results

1 of 70 flagged

  • Flagged 1
  • No detection 69
  • No result 5
FileBootstrapper.exe2.5 MBSHA-256 0f8ccdf21629…ef5d9b
  • Code signing Adobe Systems Incorporated
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 11y ago
It has a long history: seen by 2,828 sources over more than six months.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

1 point against it and 5 in its favour, checked against the scan evidence.

MT AI Engine · Verdict analysis

The reasoning behind this verdict

Analyst conclusion

This file carries a valid Adobe Systems Incorporated signature and has been submitted by 2,828 sources since it was first seen on Jun 15, 2015. Only 1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged it, using a generic label, and every major antivirus engine that analysed it reported it clean. The sandbox showed connections to Adobe account services and Windows certificate updates.

Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
  • A past analysis of another Adobe-signed file with the same lone detection was marked suspicious. That file had the same weak evidence, which does not outweigh a valid Adobe signature and wide distribution.
  • Community annotations from third-party scanners rated similar runs as suspicious or malicious. Those labels are unverified and conflict with the 17 major antivirus engines that reported the file clean.

These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.

6 sources checked · 5 complete · 1 partial. See every source

Chapter 03

What it did in our test

It ran in our isolated test environment; no test environment rated what it did as risky.

Test run summary

Capture complete
  • 21sandbox rule tags
  • 3spawned processes
  • 6network contacts
  • 40filesystem & mutex artifacts

Chapter 04

Technical details

1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flags it; signed by Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Sources checked

Every check behind this verdict

6 sources checked · 5 complete · 1 partial. Complete means the check returned a usable result; it does not mean the file is safe.

SourceStatusResultChecked
Antivirus enginesVirusTotal · 75 enginesCompleteWorth noting: 1 of 70 engines flagged it · 5 gave no result · treated as non-decisive Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxesCompleteRuntime behaviour was recorded Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerPartial2 of 12 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete Details for contacted hosts
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesComplete1 MalwareTips behaviour rule Details for signature rules
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

Engines that flagged it 1

The Safe verdict weighed these detections and treats them as non-decisive.

  • MaxSecureTrojan.Malware.325188728.susgen

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Sep 2, 2026, 12:12 PM UTC
SHA-256
0f8ccdf2162915f2d056702e9df32c65e4ed2e0c0d5d5ea606aa8803b4ef5d9b
SHA-1
e816848423a57939181651be0074de942b700f32
MD5
a810f9c99d82cb8d15667e2494020ebe

About this file

Bootstrapper.exe is a Win32 EXE file of 2.5 MB.

Type and size
Win32 EXE · 2.5 MB
Signer
Adobe Systems IncorporatedValid code signature.
First seen
Jun 15, 2015On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
2,828 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
7.32 of 8

First scanned Updated

Verdict history

  1. Suspicious
  2. Safeafter a re-check of the saved evidence

Ratings change when antivirus engines, our checks or MalwareTips staff learn more about a file.

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

Short answers to the 7 questions people ask most about this file.

Is Bootstrapper.exe safe?
We found nothing harmful in Bootstrapper.exe. 1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flags it; after weighing the other evidence we treat that alert as false alarms. It has a valid digital signature from Adobe Systems Incorporated. Run it only if it came from the developer's own website or an official app store.
What is Bootstrapper.exe?
Bootstrapper.exe is a Windows program, about 2.5 MB. It carries no version information saying what it is or who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on Jun 15, 2015.
How many antivirus engines detected Bootstrapper.exe?
1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flags Bootstrapper.exe (MaxSecure). We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
Is Bootstrapper.exe digitally signed?
Yes. Bootstrapper.exe has a valid digital signature from Adobe Systems Incorporated, which shows the file hasn't been changed since that publisher signed it. Malware is sometimes signed with stolen certificates, so a signature alone isn't proof of safety.
What is the SHA-256 hash of Bootstrapper.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of Bootstrapper.exe is 0f8ccdf2162915f2d056702e9df32c65e4ed2e0c0d5d5ea606aa8803b4ef5d9b, and its MD5 is a810f9c99d82cb8d15667e2494020ebe. Two files with the same SHA-256 are identical, so use it to check you have exactly this file, not just one with the same name.
Is it safe to run Bootstrapper.exe?
We found nothing harmful in Bootstrapper.exe, and its digital signature checks out. The main caveat is where you got it: attackers sometimes spread malware under the name of real software, so get it from the official website. If your own antivirus warns about it, check the source before you ignore the warning.
How up to date is this analysis of Bootstrapper.exe?
This report reflects the scan on Sep 2, 2026. A file's fingerprint never changes, but antivirus engines keep learning, so a rating can change later. To get a newer result, scan the file again: we refresh the antivirus results when the saved ones are out of date.
Chapter 06

Community

Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.

Related file reports

Other files people checked with the same name or signer, and recent reports with the same rating. A matching name does not make two files the same: only the SHA-256 fingerprint identifies a file.

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This report and its SHA-256 fingerprint are public, so the next person who checks the same file gets an instant answer; documents and images are listed by type instead of their file name. A file we had not seen before is uploaded to VirusTotal, whose security partners and subscribers can download it; MalwareTips deletes its own copy after the scan. If you ran this file and are worried, scan your device with up-to-date security software.