File scan report
Verdict Suspicious
Is hola_
A signed Hola VPN installer that three antivirus engines flag as a proxy or riskware tool; four clean sandbox runs show no malware behaviour.
Read the whole reasonShow less
Why Suspicious? 3 antivirus engines flag it; nothing else confirms it.
Limited evidence · One sign points to a problem; nothing else confirms it.
Treat this as a genuinely signed vendor installer that some security products classify as a proxy or unwanted program rather than as malware. Download it only from the VPN provider's official site, and leave your antivirus protection enabled while running it.
What to do now4 steps
Some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. Treat it with caution.
What to do
Don't install it unless you're sure where it came from.
Check where you got it: an unexpected attachment, a link someone sent you or a re-upload is a red flag.
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 installed it
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.
- Ask for free help on the MalwareTips forumWindows malware removal help, answered by volunteers. (opens malwaretips.com in a new tab)
- Remove malware from WindowsStep-by-step cleanup with free tools. (opens malwaretips.com in a new tab)
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
3 of 70 flagged
- Flagged 3
- No detection 67
- No result 5
- Code signing HOLA VPN LTD
- Test run Completed
- First seen 15d ago
Chapter 02
Why we think so
5 points against it and 5 in its favour, checked against the scan evidence.
The reasoning behind this verdict
This is a Hola VPN setup program carrying a valid digital signature issued to HOLA VPN LTD. Only three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it, and their wording describes a proxy or riskware tool rather than a trojan; four sandbox runs finished clean and none of the contacted hosts is known-bad. Because the publisher's certificate has no recorded history here and the app routes traffic through a proxy network, a little caution is reasonable.
The engine picture is thin and descriptive rather than alarming: three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag the installer, with DrWeb calling it a proxy tool and a second engine labelling it riskware after the publisher's own name. No engine names a malware family, and a single high-reputation engine does not amount to a consensus. The file is a .NET installer, not packed, with no unusual code entropy, and it was submitted by 163 distinct sources after first being seen on Oct 23, 2026. The signature is valid and issued to the company whose product the installer carries, which argues against impersonation, but that publisher has no recorded history in our data, so the signature confirms identity without vouching for behaviour. The combined sandbox verdict was clean: no injected processes were recorded, no persistence was set up, and the installer's network traffic went to the vendor's own domains. Nothing in the reference databases or community rule sets lists this hash. The remaining doubt comes from what the software is — a peer-to-peer proxy VPN that some security products classify as unwanted — rather than from anything malicious it was seen doing.
What We Detected
This is a Windows installer written in .NET, roughly 5.6 MB, not packed and without suspicious code entropy. It carries a valid digital signature issued to HOLA VPN LTD, the company behind the VPN product it installs. Three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged it: one high-reputation engine describes it as a proxy tool, one less prominent engine labels it riskware after the publisher's name, and a third simply returns a generic "suspicious" string. No engine named a malware family, and 17 high-reputation engines, including BitDefender, Kaspersky, ESET, Avast and Fortinet, recorded no detection at all.
Threat Behavior
Four sandbox runs were completed and the combined result was clean. The installer's own network activity was limited to the vendor's domains, where it sent an installation-status beacon, plus Amazon-hosted addresses used by those domains; the remaining DNS traffic was the analysis environment's own. Checks against public malware sample databases and malware-specific community rule sets returned nothing, and none of the four contacted hosts we could check is known to be malicious.
Why We Are Cautious Rather Than Reassured
The vendor's certificate has no recorded sample history with us, so it establishes who published the file but not a track record. The product itself is a peer-to-peer proxy VPN, a category that several security products treat as unwanted because traffic is routed through other users' connections, and one detection is worded exactly along those lines. That is a category disagreement about what the software does, not evidence of a trojan, but it is enough that we would not describe the file as harmless. It is also a recently distributed build, first seen on Oct 23, 2026, so its behaviour has not accumulated years of scrutiny. Analysis tags also note debug-environment detection and an overlay, both typical of commercial installer protection.
What To Do Now
If you intend to use this VPN, get the installer from the vendor's official website rather than a download portal or an unsolicited link, and keep your antivirus and security software running. If your security software objects to it, respect that prompt rather than overriding it: you can choose a VPN product your security tools do not classify as a proxy or unwanted program.
Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
- Seventeen high-reputation engines, including BitDefender, Kaspersky, ESET, Avast and Fortinet, returned nothing, and four sandbox runs finished clean — a benign reading of this installer is entirely plausible.
- The three flags all describe a proxy or riskware tool rather than a trojan, which is what this class of peer-to-peer VPN software does; the engine wording may reflect category disagreement rather than hostile code.
- The signature is valid and issued to the company whose product the installer carries, so a stolen-certificate or impersonation scenario is not suggested by the evidence.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- The installer carries a valid digital signature issued to the VPN vendor whose product it installs.
- Seventeen high-reputation engines, including BitDefender, Kaspersky, ESET and Fortinet, returned no detection.
- The combined sandbox verdict was clean, with no injected processes, no persistence and no known-malicious hosts contacted.
- Widely submitted by 163 distinct sources; the file is a normal .NET installer and is not packed.
- No entry in public malware sample databases and no matching malware-specific community rules.
- Three antivirus engines flag the installer, one of them a high-reputation engine that describes it as a proxy tool and another that labels it riskware after the publisher's name.
- The signing certificate is valid but the publisher has no established sample history here, so the signature confirms identity without demonstrating a clean track record.
- The software routes traffic through a peer-to-peer proxy network, a category some security products classify as unwanted.
- The build is recent, first seen on Oct 23, 2026, so it has had little long-term scrutiny.
- Analysis tags note debug-environment detection and an appended overlay, both typical of commercial installer protection.
6 sources checked · all complete. See every source
Chapter 03
What it did in our test
It ran in 4 isolated tests; no test environment rated what it did as risky.
Test run summary
Capture complete- 4isolated sandbox runs
- 32sandbox rule tags
- 2spawned processes
- 4network contacts
- 13filesystem & mutex artifacts
What the test run showed
What the file did on a test computer
Confirmed in the test run
Moderate concern: Contains packed or scrambled code that is harder to inspect (common in installers too).
Moderate concern: Ran commands or a script on the test computer.
Moderate concern: Downloaded a file during the test run.
Moderate concern: Checked whether it was running on a test computer.
Note: Read the user name of the test computer.
Note: Listed the programs running on the test computer.
Note: Deleted files or logs during the test run (installers often clean up after themselves).
Sandbox labels we could not confirm (common in safe files too)
Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as code injection, but no injected program was recorded.
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 setting up auto-start; no auto-start entry was recorded.
Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as weakening security settings; no setting change was recorded.
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.
- 1
Input file
The submitted object
- Evidence 1 of 7: FileSeen in the test run
hola_setup.exe
71fe01b486931aabe4be12c16bcc022d631bffca9165874a89916bedf949a45d
Uploaded file
- 2
Processes
What ran
- Evidence 2 of 7: ProcessSeen in the test run
Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe"
Test run - Evidence 3 of 7: ProcessSeen in the test run
Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe
"C:\Users\user\Desktop\Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe"
Test run - +1 more recorded observation
- 2
Files
Created or changed
- Evidence 4 of 7: Written fileSeen in the test run
hola_setup.log
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\hola_setup.log
Test run - Evidence 5 of 7: Written fileSeen in the test run
Temp
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp
Test run - +1 more recorded observation
- 2
Network
Hosts contacted
- Evidence 6 of 7: Contacted hostSeen in the test run
perr.hola.org
Contacted during the test run.
Test run - Evidence 7 of 7: Contacted hostSeen in the test run
hola.org
Contacted during the test run.
Test run - +1 more recorded observation
7 facts from the test run. See the full activity list.
What this file did when executed
This file was detonated in 4 sandboxes and its runtime behaviour was observed.
Sandbox verdicts
1- VT: CLEANclean
Techniques observed in the sandbox
32MITRE ATT&CK techniques the sandbox mapped. Highlighted ones are rare in normal software; the others are common in legitimate programs too.
- T1010
- T1012
- T1027· Obfuscated code
- T1027.002· Obfuscated code
- T1033· Reads user info
- T1036
- T1047
- T1055· Process injection
- T1057· Lists programs
- T1059· Runs commands
- T1069
- T1070· Covers its tracks
- T1070.006· Covers its tracks
- T1071· Application protocol
- T1071.001· Application protocol
- T1074
- T1082· System recon
- T1083· Scans your files
- T1087
- T1105· Network file transfer
- T1112
- T1129· Loads modules
- T1485
- T1497· Sandbox evasion
- T1518· Checks your AV
- T1543· Service install
- T1547· Auto-start
- T1553
- T1553.002
- T1562· Disables security
- T1574· Execution hijack
- T1620· In-memory loading
Observed activity
Processes started
2Programs the file ran, with their command lines.
Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe"Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe"C:\Users\user\Desktop\Hola-Setup-C-prads55.exe"
Network contacts
44 hosts, listed as 2 domains, 2 addresses, 2 links. Links show the host and path only.
- Domain
perr.hola.org - Domain
hola.org - IP address
54.225.121.9 - IP address
23.22.252.240 - URL
https://perr.hola.org/client_cgi/perr - URL
https://hola.org
Files
11Files the file created, changed or deleted.
- Written
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\hola_setup.log - Written
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp - Written
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\462882c1-78e7-43b6-a0f8-9e36cd2afaef - Written
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue - Written
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\12e4f060-a725-4c95-ac05-711c973b68fa - Written
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive
Show all 11 entries for files
- Written
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\CabC7B6.tmp - Written
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\TarC7C7.tmp - Written
C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming - Deleted
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\CabC7B6.tmp - Deleted
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\TarC7C7.tmp
Registry and auto-start
15Settings the file changed, including ways to start again after a restart.
- Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\EnableFileTracing - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\EnableAutoFileTracing - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\EnableConsoleTracing - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\FileTracingMask - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\ConsoleTracingMask - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\MaxFileSize
Show all 15 entries for registry and auto-start
- Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASAPI32\FileDirectory - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\EnableFileTracing - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\EnableAutoFileTracing - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\EnableConsoleTracing - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\FileTracingMask - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\ConsoleTracingMask - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\MaxFileSize - Set
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\Hola-Setup-C-prads55_RASMANCS\FileDirectory - Set
SOFTWARE\Hola\uuid
Mutexes
2Named locks a program uses so only one copy runs; malware families often reuse them.
Global\OneSettingQueryMutex+compat+encapsulationhola_setup_v2azure
Sandbox background — not the file
10The analysis machine's own processes and connections, recorded in every run.
- VM process
WerFault.exeC:\Windows\SysWOW64\WerFault.exe -u -p 2064 -s 2156 - VM process
services.exeC:\Windows\system32\services.exe - VM process
svchost.exeC:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -p - VM process
svchost.exeC:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe -k UnistackSvcGroup - VM process
svchost.exeC:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalService -s W32Time - VM process
svchost.exeC:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k LocalSystemNetworkRestricted -p -s WdiSystemHost
Show all 10 entries for sandbox background — not the file
- VM process
lsass.exeC:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe - VM process
svchost.exeC:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalSystemNetworkRestricted -p - VM host
8.8.8.8 - VM host
162.159.36.2
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 1 child at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache. 1 has no saved verdict and was not checked; that is missing coverage, not a finding.
- 611ac818d5d022f67ac6…cdb3d2Not checkedno saved verdict
Chapter 04
Technical details
3 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it; signed by HOLA VPN LTD.
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 3
- DrWeb (major engine)Tool.Proxy.2607
- alibabacloudSuspicious
- VBA32SigRiskware.HOLAVPNLTD
File fingerprint
- Last analyzed
- Nov 5, 2026, 3:08 PM UTC
- SHA-256
71fe01b486931aabe4be12c16bcc022d631bffca9165874a89916bedf949a45d- SHA-1
ef8d9dd6c22423f57c054663c87b3d25f463857e- MD5
17539ea402666114fedecdcdd307f3ba
About this file
hola_setup.exe says it is Hola VPN App Setup (Hola Setup), 5.6 MB.
- Claims to be
- Hola VPN App Setup (Hola Setup)From the file's own version information, written by whoever built it.
- Original name
- hola_setup.exeMatches the shared file name.
- Type and size
- Win32 EXE · 5.6 MB
- Signer
- HOLA VPN LTDValid code signature.
- First seen
- Oct 23, 2026On VirusTotal.
- Submitted by
- 163 distinct sources
- Packer
- None detected
- Entropy
- 6.52 of 8
First scanned
Antivirus consensus
3 of 70 engines flagged this file
5 of the 75 engines returned no result for this file (file type not supported, or the scan did not finish), so they did not check it.
- Tier-118 engines1flagged
- Tier-235 engines0flagged
- Low-trust17 engines2flagged
View all 75 engine results
- alibabacloudMalicious: Suspicious
- DrWebMalicious: Tool.Proxy.2607
- VBA32Malicious: SigRiskware.HOLAVPNLTD
- AcronisClean
- AhnLab-V3Clean
- AlibabaClean
- ALYacClean
- Antiy-AVLClean
- APEXClean
- ArcabitClean
- AvastClean
- Avast-MobileNo result
- AVGClean
- AviraClean
- BitDefenderClean
- BitDefenderFalxNo result
- BkavClean
- CAT-QuickHealClean
- ClamAVClean
- CMCClean
- CrowdStrikeClean
- CTXClean
- CylanceClean
- CynetClean
- DeepInstinctClean
- ElasticClean
- EmsisoftClean
- ESET-NOD32Clean
- F-SecureClean
- FortinetClean
- GDataClean
- GoogleClean
- GridinsoftClean
- huorongClean
- IkarusClean
- JiangminClean
- K7AntiVirusClean
- K7GWClean
- KasperskyClean
- KingsoftNo result
- LionicClean
- MalwarebytesClean
- MaxSecureClean
- McAfeeDClean
- MicrosoftClean
- MicroWorld-eScanClean
- NANO-AntivirusClean
- PaloaltoClean
- PandaClean
- RisingClean
- SangforClean
- SentinelOneClean
- SkyhighClean
- SophosClean
- SUPERAntiSpywareClean
- SymantecClean
- SymantecMobileInsightNo result
- TACHYONClean
- tehtrisClean
- TencentClean
- TrapmineClean
- TrellixENSClean
- TrendMicroClean
- TrendMicro-HouseCallClean
- TrustlookNo result
- VaristClean
- VIPREClean
- VirITClean
- ViRobotClean
- WebrootClean
- XcitiumClean
- YandexClean
- ZillyaClean
- ZoneAlarmClean
- ZonerClean
Signatures and behavior heuristics
Low-severity pattern matches — worth noting but not on their own cause for alarm.
VirusTotal's sandbox summary maps this run to MITRE T1055 (Process Injection), but no injected process of the sample's own was recorded (the analysis VM's own WMI adapter, crash handlers and Chrome updater are not counted). VirusTotal maps T1055 on about half of all files no engine flags, so the mapping alone is not evidence of injection.
EvidenceT1055 (sandbox MITRE mapping)Signed by "HOLA VPN LTD" — short generic company CN. Paired with 3 engine hit(s); possible stolen, fraudulent, or reseller-purchased code-signing certificate.
EvidenceHOLA VPN LTD
Section entropy & packers
No high-entropy executable section or known packer signature was detected. Data and resource sections can still have high entropy without indicating packed code.
These identify the compiler, runtime or installer used to build the file. They are not packing and are not a risk signal on their own.
How widely this file has been seen
Lots of people are uploading this but it's recent — typical of newly-released legitimate software. Low prior for malware.
Chapter 05
Questions & answers
Short answers to the 7 questions people ask most about this file.
Is hola_setup.exe safe, or is it malware?
What is hola_setup.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected hola_setup.exe?
I already downloaded and installed hola_setup.exe — what should I do?
Is hola_setup.exe digitally signed?
What is the SHA-256 hash of hola_setup.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of hola_setup.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.