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Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 18 days ago

Is hydra-installer.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

The sample received no detections from 75 antivirus engines, including all 17 major antivirus engines, and one sandbox run did not issue a malicious verdict.

Read the whole reasonShow less

Why Suspicious? Unsigned Windows executable with no authenticated publisher.

Limited evidence · One sign points to a problem; nothing else confirms it.

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

If it came from a link, an attachment or a stranger, delete 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

  1. Don't install 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 installed 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.

Why we think so

Share this file report

hydra-installer.exe: Suspicious — 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

0 of 71 flagged

  • Flagged 0
  • No detection 71
  • No result 4
Filehydra-installer.exe11.5 MBSHA-256 9ce0713c0173…4dbdab
  • Code signing Unsigned
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 9mo ago
None of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag it.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

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

MT AI Engine · Verdict analysis

The reasoning behind this verdict

Analyst conclusion

14 community YARA rules matched, the executable is unsigned, and the run recorded T1562.001, so its origin should be verified before execution.

Where this verdict could be wrong4 caveats
  • The 14 YARAify matches are meaningful researcher-curated static evidence, although several displayed rules are broad capability or compiler signatures rather than family-specific detections.
  • A communityComments annotation cites MAL_Archer_RAT_Nov25, but unverified comments are contextual evidence and conflict with 0/71 engine detections.
  • The executable is unsigned, so there is no publisher identity or established signer history to authenticate its origin.
  • All 10 files it created remain unknown rather than affirmatively 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
  • 13sandbox rule tags
  • 14spawned processes
  • 16network contacts
  • 38filesystem & 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.

  • 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: Looked through folders on the test computer (most installers do this).

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

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as recording keystrokes; no keylogging was confirmed.

  • 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.

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

      hydra-installer.exe

      9ce0713c0173d8592633b2e31aba87cce30f7308a03336636c7e8b9f354dbdab

      Uploaded file

  2. Processes

    What ran

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

      file.exe

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

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

      hydra-installer.exe

      "C:\Users\user\Desktop\hydra-installer.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

      Logs

      C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Security Health\Logs

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

      5a2a7058cf8d1e56c20e6b19a7c48eb2386d141b.tbres

      C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\TokenBroker\Cache\5a2a7058cf8d1e56c20e6b19a7c48eb2386d141b.tbres

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  4. Network

    Hosts contacted

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

      installer.hydralauncher.gg

      Contacted during the test run.

      Test run
    2. Evidence 7 of 7: Contacted hostWorked out from other results

      static.cloudflareinsights.com

      Older reputation report (safe), not counted as current evidence.

      Contacted-host cross-check
    3. +1 more recorded observation

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

Chapter 04

Technical details

None of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag it; no publisher signature.

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 enginesCompletePositive signal: 0 of 71 engines flagged it · 4 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxesCompleteCombined summary: clean verdict Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerPartial8 of 22 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete Details for contacted hosts
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesComplete14 community YARA rules Details for signature rules
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Oct 9, 2026, 2:02 AM UTC
SHA-256
9ce0713c0173d8592633b2e31aba87cce30f7308a03336636c7e8b9f354dbdab
SHA-1
14b19bc1233ae1c35b80d91bfcb464c967fcd019
MD5
22a7efa9705ee6fcc45c21e13d760f4e

About this file

hydra-installer.exe is a Win32 EXE file of 11.5 MB.

Type and size
Win32 EXE · 11.5 MB
Signer
UnsignedNo code signature.
First seen
Jan 11, 2026On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
3,716 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
5.95 of 8

First scanned

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

Short answers to the 6 questions people ask most about this file.

Is hydra-installer.exe safe, or is it malware?
hydra-installer.exe is rated Suspicious: some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. No antivirus engine flags it; the caution comes from other evidence, such as who made it, how widely it is used or what it did in a test run. Don't install it unless you're sure where it came from. If you need the software, download a fresh installer from the developer's own website.
What is hydra-installer.exe?
hydra-installer.exe is a software installer, about 11.5 MB. It carries no version information saying what it is or who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on Jan 11, 2026.
How many antivirus engines detected hydra-installer.exe?
None of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag hydra-installer.exe. A clean antivirus result is not proof of safety; the caution comes from other evidence, such as who made it, how widely it is used or what it did in a test run.
What should I do if I already installed hydra-installer.exe?
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.
What is the SHA-256 hash of hydra-installer.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of hydra-installer.exe is 9ce0713c0173d8592633b2e31aba87cce30f7308a03336636c7e8b9f354dbdab, and its MD5 is 22a7efa9705ee6fcc45c21e13d760f4e. 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 hydra-installer.exe?
This report reflects the scan on Oct 9, 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, 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.