File scan report

Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 9 days ago

Is ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

Remote-administration tool signed by ConnectWise with three major detections and offensive MITRE techniques.

Why Suspicious? 14 antivirus engines flag it and one of our detection rules matched it.

Moderate evidence · More than one sign points to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful.

Don't run it until you know where it came from

Treat as suspicious; block pending further verification or replace with an officially signed build from ConnectWise.

What to do now4 steps

Some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. Treat it with caution.

What to do

  1. Don't run it unless you're sure where it came from.

  2. Check where you got it: an unexpected attachment, a link someone sent you or a re-upload is a red flag.

  3. If you can't confirm where it came from, delete it. If you need the program, download it again from the publisher's own website.

If you already ran it

  1. Stop using it, run a full scan with your antivirus and watch for unexpected behavior or security alerts.

Not sure what to do?

Ask the MalwareTips community before you run it. If you already ran it, follow the cleanup guide.

Paste this report's link in your topic so helpers can see what was found.

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

Antivirus results

14 of 71 flagged

  • Flagged 14
  • No detection 57
  • No result 4
FileScreenConnect.ClientService.exe95.3 kBSHA-256 46457d98fb1c…5fd8ab
  • Code signing Signer not verified
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 1y ago
14 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag it, including Kaspersky and Dr.Web.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

4 points against it and 3 in its favour, checked against the scan evidence.

MT AI Engine · Verdict analysis

The reasoning behind this verdict

Analyst conclusion

14 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag the file, three of them major, and hacktoolConfirmed is true. The signer has only two prior samples and zero clean history. Similar ConnectWise-signed files were previously rated suspicious.

Where this verdict could be wrong1 caveat
  • No contacted-host reputation result was saved — host-reputation cross-check incomplete; cannot confirm malicious IPs.

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
  • 13sandbox rule tags
  • 7spawned processes
  • 4network contacts
  • 29filesystem & mutex artifacts

What the test run showed

What the file did on a test computer

Confirmed in the test run

  • Moderate concern: Ran commands or a script on the test computer.

  • Moderate concern: Checked whether it was running on a test computer.

  • Note: Talked to servers over the internet during the test run.

  • Note: Read basic details of the test computer, such as its Windows version.

  • Note: Loaded extra code modules while running.

  • Note: Checked which security software was installed on the test computer.

Sandbox labels we could not confirm (common in safe files too)

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as creating a service; no new service was recorded.

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as weakening security settings; no setting change was recorded.

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as changing how Windows loads code; nothing confirms it.

This file was run on a test computer (a sandbox), not on yours. Labels we could not confirm are listed so you can see them, but they are not treated as evidence against the file.

Recorded behavior

What happened in the test

Grouped by step. The order is not a timeline.

Seen in the test runWorked out from other results
  1. Input file

    The submitted object

    1
    1. Evidence 1 of 7: FileSeen in the test run

      ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe

      46457d98fb1c53bbccb66c1015eb831355f30c8bf8e6f25cf3183aac2a5fd8ab

      Uploaded file
  2. Processes

    What ran

    2
    1. Evidence 2 of 7: ProcessSeen in the test run

      program.exe

      "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"

      Test run
    2. Evidence 3 of 7: ProcessSeen in the test run

      46457d98fb1c53bbccb66c1015eb831355f30c8bf8e6f25cf3183aac2a5fd8ab.exe

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation
  3. Files

    Created or changed

    2
    1. Evidence 4 of 7: Written fileSeen in the test run

      program.exe.log

      C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\CLR_v4.0_32\UsageLogs\program.exe.log

      Test run
    2. Evidence 5 of 7: Written fileSeen in the test run

      GUM2AE3.tmp

      C:\Program Files\Google\Temp\GUM2AE3.tmp

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation
  4. Network

    Hosts contacted

    2
    1. Evidence 6 of 7: Contacted hostSeen in the test run

      23.32.75.34

      Contacted during the test run.

      Test run
    2. Evidence 7 of 7: Contacted hostSeen in the test run

      23.46.228.41

      Contacted during the test run.

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

7 facts from the test run. See the full activity list.

Chapter 04

Technical details

14 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag it; a signature that did not verify.

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 enginesCompleteRisk signal: 14 of 71 engines flagged it · 4 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxesCompleteRuntime behaviour was recorded Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerPartial4 hosts contacted in the test run had no completed reputation check Details for contacted hosts
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesCompleteWorth noting: 4 community YARA rules (generic only) · 1 MalwareTips behaviour rule Details for signature rules
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

Engines that flagged it 14

  • DrWeb (major engine)Program.RemoteAdmin.975
  • Ikarus (major engine)PUA.ConnectWise
  • Kaspersky (major engine)not-a-virus:HEUR:RemoteAdmin.Win32.ConnectWise.gen
  • TrellixENS (major engine)Artemis!67ACA444BE6C
  • huorongHackTool/ConnectWiseControl.i
  • JiangminTrojan.PSW.Stealer.dwe
  • KingsoftWin32.HACKTOOL.RemoteAdmin.v
  • MaxSecureTrojan.Malware.331091061.susgen
6 more in the full engine list

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Oct 17, 2026, 1:22 PM UTC
SHA-256
46457d98fb1c53bbccb66c1015eb831355f30c8bf8e6f25cf3183aac2a5fd8ab
SHA-1
637238c64fd0749e6f31abcaaadfb2b4a71e0146
MD5
67aca444be6cc9110dfa9d85e630bc2b

About this file

ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe is a Win32 EXE file of 95.3 kB.

Type and size
Win32 EXE · 95.3 kB
Signer
ConnectWise, LLC (unverified signature)Worth noting: Malware sometimes copies or steals a company's signature, so this does not mean that company made it.
First seen
Jun 18, 2025On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
98 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
7.62 of 8

First scanned Updated

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

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

Is ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe safe, or is it malware?
ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe is rated Suspicious: some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. 14 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag it. Don't run it unless you're sure where it came from. If you need the program, download it again from the publisher's own website.
What is ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe?
ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe is a Windows program, about 95.3 kB. It carries no version information saying what it is or who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on Jun 18, 2025.
How many antivirus engines detected ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe?
14 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe, including Kaspersky and Dr.Web. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
I already downloaded and ran ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe — what should I do?
No infection is confirmed: the rating is a caution, not a malware finding. 1) Check where it came from. If you can't confirm the source, delete it. 2) Run a full scan with your security software. 3) If the scan finds something, follow its removal steps and change passwords you typed on the device since then.
Is ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe digitally signed?
It carries a signature in the name of ConnectWise, LLC that could not be verified. Malware sometimes copies or steals a company's signature, so this does not mean that company made it.
What is the SHA-256 hash of ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe is 46457d98fb1c53bbccb66c1015eb831355f30c8bf8e6f25cf3183aac2a5fd8ab, and its MD5 is 67aca444be6cc9110dfa9d85e630bc2b. 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.
How up to date is this analysis of ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe?
This report reflects the scan on Oct 17, 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.

Recent reports on other files with the same rating.

All file reports
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.