Is ValiDrive.exe safe?
Clean across our antivirus network, signed by Gibson Research Corporation, and matches prevalent legitimate ValiDrive utility despite packer and heuristic flags.
No engines detect threats in this common file with positive reputation. Heuristics flag process injection and LSASS observation, but community notes confirm it's a safe flash drive tester from grc.com. Signed and packed consistently with lightweight assembly tool.
382041665c4670222b…503e53b0ad19a4Recommended next actions
Before running
Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source you independently trust.
If you already ran 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 engines detect threats in this common file with positive reputation. Heuristics flag process injection and LSASS observation, but community notes confirm it's a safe flash drive tester from grc.com. Signed and packed consistently with lightweight assembly tool.
Dominant clean engine consensus (0/72 malicious, full tier1 coverage) outweighs synthesis heuristics on injection/LSASS/IPs, which lack sandbox or detection corroboration. High prevalence and community validation as GRC's ValiDrive tool explain behavioural signals. Verified signing adds trust despite no historical stats. YARAify hits are packer/cert-focused, not malicious.
What We Detected
Clean scan: 0/72 engines flag malicious, including tier1 like Kaspersky, BitDefender. Heuristics note T1055 injection into svchost.exe, LSASS access, direct IP contacts (Azure/Akamai ranges).
Threat Behavior
PECompact packing and high entropy suit compact assembly tool. No malicious children, sandbox verdicts, or bad hosts. Offensive MITRE (3/12) ambient for system tools.
What To Do Now
Safe to run; verifies real USB drive capacity per grc.com. Matches known benign pattern.
Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
- triggeredHeuristics 'MalwareTips.Synth.CredentialDumper' flags LSASS access (Mimikatz-like), which could indicate credential access if not tool-specific.
- behaviour.contactedIps direct (no domains, e.g. 23.216.147.76 Akamai) matches 'DirectIpC2' heuristic (medium), potentially evading DNS blocks.
- peAnalysis.highEntropyCode=true; likelyPacked=true (PECompact) — common in both legit compact tools and malware.
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 malicious engines (72 reporting, 17 tier1 clean)
- prevalence 'common_old' (3627 sources)
- signing.verified by Gibson Research Corporation
- communityComments validate as grc.com ValiDrive tool
- No malicious sandbox or children
- triggeredHeuristics 'ProcessInjection' (high severity, T1055)
- behaviour.offensiveTechniques includes LSASS targeting
- peAnalysis.likelyPacked=true (PECompact)
- Direct IP contacts without DNS (19 IPs)
This is the legitimate ValiDrive.exe from Gibson Research Corporation for USB drive testing. Safe to use; ignore heuristic flags explained by its low-level drive access.
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
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial20 runtime contacts were observed without a completed reputation cross-check.
YARA
Complete8 signature or behavior rules matched.
External intel
Partial1 of 3 independent reference sources completed.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
Runtime flight recorder
Capture complete- 1isolated sandbox run
- 12MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 15spawned processes
- 20network contacts
- 24filesystem & mutex artifacts
Attack story
Runtime observations grouped by analysis stage. Arrows organize the stages; they do not claim chronology or causality.
Input file
The submitted object
- FileObserved
ValiDrive.exe
382041665c4670222b8b2600df1e3f4ec97d2b24b071d0f94e503e53b0ad19a4
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\executable.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
C:\Windows\system32\services.exe
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
iconcache_idx.db
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
iconcache_16.db
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_16.db
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
23.216.147.76
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - Contacted hostObserved
192.229.211.108
Contact observed during runtime.
07Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
7 recorded facts from one runtime window. Every fact remains independently traceable in Analyst mode.
What this file did when executed
This file was detonated in 1 sandbox and its runtime behaviour was observed.
Adversary techniques mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
- 23.216.147.76
- 192.229.211.108
- 20.99.185.48
- 104.98.118.163
- 20.99.186.246
- 20.99.133.109
- 23.53.122.135
- 23.209.116.9
- 20.99.184.37
- 20.22.113.133
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_16.db
- C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache\Fonts\Download-1.tmp
- \\?\PIPE\wkssvc
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERD4EA.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERD5B5.tmp.csv
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERD5F4.tmp.txt
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERF15B.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERF15D.tmp.csv
- Local\Shell.CMruPidlList
- Local\SessionImmersiveColorMutex
- Global\SyncRootManager
- Local\Mutexf01b4d95cf55d32a.automaticDestinations-ms
- Local\SHResolveLibrary:C:/Users/Virtual/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Windows/Libraries/Documents.library-ms
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 2 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- bd3493f96ae3dab469e6…0210d1Never scannednever seen before
- c9c6d514bef159b18f40…469361Never scannednever seen before
Detection & Forensics
Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.
Evidence integrity
Chain of custody for the facts preserved in this report.
- 8rule hits recorded
- 0 / 76engines flagged
- 3,627sources 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 has a long, established submission history across 3,627 sources.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSubmission historyObserved at - 03
One or more independent reference checks were incomplete or unavailable.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceExternal-intelligence coverageObserved at - 04
Scanned file: ValiDrive.exe — 382041665c4670222b8b2600df1e3f4ec97d2b24b071d0f94e503e53b0ad19a4
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\executable.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — C:\Windows\system32\services.exe
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: iconcache_idx.db — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: iconcache_16.db — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_16.db
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 23.216.147.76 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: 192.229.211.108 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved 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.
Signatures and behavior heuristics
A community signature or high-severity behavioral heuristic matched. Signatures identify known patterns; heuristics are strong leads but are not proof on their own.
- PE_Digital_Certificate
- PE_Potentially_Signed_Digital_Certificate
- pecompact2
- PECompact2xxBitSumTechnologies
- PECompactV2XBitsumTechnologies
MITRE T1055 (Process Injection) observed — CreateRemoteThread / APC / reflective-DLL injection. The payload is being smuggled into a legitimate process to bypass AV hooks.
EvidenceC:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -pSandbox observed process activity targeting LSASS (Windows credential store). Legitimate software has no business reading LSASS memory — this is Mimikatz-shape behaviour.
EvidenceC:\Windows\system32\lsass.exeThe sample contacted an external IP address directly and no application domain was recorded. Direct-IP traffic also occurs in legitimate installers and infrastructure, so this is supporting context only and requires corroboration from host reputation and other runtime evidence.
Evidence23.216.147.76 · 192.229.211.108 · 20.99.185.48
0 of 76 engines flagged this file
View all 76 engine results
Section entropy & packers
Executable sections have high entropy (7.2+) — the code is compressed or encrypted and only decrypted at runtime. Classic packing behaviour.
How widely this file has been seen
Widely seen in the wild for a long time. High prior this is legitimate; isolated detections on common-old files are usually false positives.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- ValiDrive.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- Signature valid: Gibson Research Corporation
- Size
- 104.0 KB
- Last analyzed
- Apr 24, 2026, 10:09 AM UTC
382041665c4670222b8b2600df1e3f4ec97d2b24b071d0f94e503e53b0ad19a4Safety & 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
Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source 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 ValiDrive.exe safe?
What is ValiDrive.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected ValiDrive.exe?
Is ValiDrive.exe digitally signed?
What is the SHA-256 hash of ValiDrive.exe?
Is it safe to run ValiDrive.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of ValiDrive.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.
