File scan report
Verdict Safe
Is Horse
Only Cynet flagged this widely distributed DLL, while major antivirus engines, observation from the test run, static inspection, and external intelligence supplied no…
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Strong evidence · Widely seen for a long time, and nothing harmful found.
Good practice2 tips
We found nothing harmful in this file.
Use it only as part of a program you got from the developer's own website.
Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on.
No scanner can promise a file is 100% safe.
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
- Code signing Unsigned
- Test run Completed
- First seen 1y ago
Chapter 02
Why we think so
3 points against it and 5 in its favour, checked against the scan evidence.
The reasoning behind this verdict
One of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged the DLL, and that finding came from a less reliable detector without a named family. The sample is widely distributed, the completed sandbox run produced no malicious verdict, and neither packing analysis nor external intelligence corroborated the alert.
Cynet was the sole detector among 75 engines, while all 17 major antivirus engines that reported a result did not flag the file. The DLL has been submitted 2,648 times by 2,116 sources over roughly 701 days, making an isolated generic alert less persuasive. One completed sandbox run returned a clean result and recorded no exclusively offensive technique, persistence indicator, injected process, or dropped file. Its sole domain contact was explicitly identified as analysis-environment background traffic, and the corresponding host check found no known malicious or suspicious match. The antivirus analysis found neither packing nor high-entropy code, and no MalwareBazaar or malware-specific YARAify intelligence corroborated Cynet. The missing signature remains a limitation, but the overall pattern strongly supports a false positive.
What We Detected
Cynet was the only engine to flag HorseMenu.dll: 1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it. No major antivirus engines detected it, no malware family was identified, and the alert was not corroborated by MalwareBazaar or malware-specific YARAify rules. The DLL is unsigned, so code signing cannot establish its publisher.
Threat Behavior
One completed sandbox run produced a clean result and recorded no exclusively offensive technique, persistence indicator, process injection, or dropped file. Several dual-use techniques were mapped, but these can also arise from ordinary DLL loading or environmental checks. The only recorded domain was designated as analysis-VM background traffic rather than sample activity; host-reputation coverage included that distinct domain and returned no malicious or suspicious match. The antivirus analysis also found no packer, likely packing, or high-entropy code.
What To Do Now
The evidence is consistent with an isolated false positive, especially given 2,116 submitters and 2,648 submissions over approximately 701 days. Keep security software enabled and obtain the DLL from its original trusted distribution channel. If its source is uncertain or the hash differs from the expected copy, quarantine it and verify the package before loading it.
Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
- Cynet assigned a malicious score, but it is the only detector among 75 engines and no major antivirus engines agreed.
- The DLL is unsigned, so its publisher and origin cannot be authenticated through code signing.
- The runtime report mapped several dual-use techniques, including and T1056.001, although none were classified as exclusively offensive and the sandbox produced a clean result.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- Only 1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged the file, with no major detections.
- The file has longstanding, broad prevalence across 2,116 sources and 2,648 submissions.
- The completed sandbox run produced no malicious verdict, persistence, process injection, or file it created.
- The antivirus analysis found no packer, likely packing, or high-entropy code.
- MalwareBazaar and malware-specific YARAify checks provided no corroborating intelligence.
- The DLL is unsigned, so there is no authenticated publisher identity.
- Cynet assigned a generic malicious score.
- The test run mapped dual-use behaviors such as obfuscation and input-related discovery, though no exclusively offensive behavior was recorded.
6 sources checked · all complete. 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- 15sandbox rule tags
- 10spawned processes
- 0network contacts
- 1filesystem & mutex artifacts
Includes the sandbox verdicts, 15 mapped techniques and every process, file, registry and network entry.
Show the technical evidenceChapter 04
Technical details
1 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flags it; no publisher signature.
Sources checked
Every check behind this verdict
6 sources checked · all complete. Complete means the check returned a usable result; it does not mean the file is safe.
Engines that flagged it 1
The saved verdict treats these detections as likely false positives.
- CynetMalicious (score: 100)
File fingerprint
- Last analyzed
- Oct 9, 2026, 2:57 PM UTC
- SHA-256
3088c01234ef610f0219c6d7ef01f9b07ec7a2ea3c09ec266418b0eefca57bd2- SHA-1
b079d5845798976f262fc14cde93b9e234b0aa31- MD5
945853725021d73ff1739ee6268fadac
About this file
HorseMenu.dll is a Win32 DLL file of 3.0 MB.
- Type and size
- Win32 DLL · 3.0 MB
- Signer
- UnsignedNo code signature.
- First seen
- Nov 7, 2024On VirusTotal.
- Submitted by
- 2,116 distinct sources
- Packer
- None detected
- Entropy
- 6.32 of 8
First scanned
Includes every engine result (75), PE section entropy and packers and how widely the file has been seen.
Show the technical evidenceChapter 05
Questions & answers
Short answers to the 6 questions people ask most about this file.
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Community
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