MalwareTips

File scan report

Scan another file

Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 7 days ago

Is Installer.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

Four of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it raised generic alerts, but long-term prevalence and contradictory sandbox results leave the file’s actual intent unresolved.

Read the whole reasonShow less

Why Suspicious? 4 antivirus engines flag it, but no major engine agrees and one sandbox test run rated it malicious while another found nothing.

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

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

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

4 of 71 flagged

  • Flagged 4
  • No detection 67
  • No result 4
FileInstaller.exe5.3 MBSHA-256 a453b3ea8d81…908c1a
  • Code signing Unsigned
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 10y ago
A sandbox test run rated its behaviour as malicious.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

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

MT AI Engine · Verdict analysis

The reasoning behind this verdict

Analyst conclusion

Four of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flagged this unsigned installer, but no leading engine identified malware and the labels do not establish a real family. One sandbox run reported malicious activity while another reported clean, and no concrete high-risk action or hostile contacted host corroborated the adverse result.

Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
  • Four engines raised alerts, including SentinelOne at smaller, so the detections cannot be dismissed as exclusively less reliable noise.
  • One sandbox run returned a malicious result, although another run returned clean and no concrete high-risk artefact corroborated the malicious result.
  • The executable is unsigned, so there is no verified publisher identity to support its apparent installer role.

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 · all complete. See every source

Chapter 03

What it did in our test

It ran in 9 isolated tests; 1 test environment rated what it did as risky.

Test run summary

Capture complete
  • 9isolated sandbox runs
  • 22sandbox rule tags
  • 15spawned processes
  • 23network contacts
  • 40filesystem & mutex artifacts

What the test run showed

What the file did on a test computer

Confirmed in the test run

  • High concern: Encrypted files on the test computer, as ransomware does.

  • 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: Used an unusual way to talk to a server.

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

  • Note: Read the network settings of the test computer.

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

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 recording keystrokes; no keylogging was confirmed.

  • 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.

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

      Installer.exe

      a453b3ea8d8133531fad26b18701c694c324cc201e3069d07e99f0e100908c1a

      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

      regsvr32

      regsvr32 /s "C:\Windows\system32\COMDLG32.OCX"

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  3. Files

    Created or changed

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

      ~DF96C9AFD8CF1E6554.TMP

      C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\~DF96C9AFD8CF1E6554.TMP

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

      Installer.exe

      C:\Program Files (x86)\Technitium\TMACv6.0\Installer.exe

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  4. Network

    Hosts contacted

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

      c-0001.c-msedge.net

      Contacted during the test run.

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

      au.c-0001.c-msedge.net

      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

4 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag 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.

SourceStatusResultChecked
Antivirus enginesVirusTotal · 75 enginesCompleteRisk signal: 4 of 71 engines flagged it · 4 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxes · C2AE, CAPA, CAPE SandboxCompleteWorth noting: 9 runs: 1 malicious, 1 clean, 7 without a verdict Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerComplete33 contacted hosts checked Details for contacted hosts
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesComplete1 MalwareTips behaviour rule Details for signature rules
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

Engines that flagged it 4

  • JiangminTrojan.Generic.haljt
  • SentinelOneStatic AI - Suspicious PE
  • Trapminesuspicious.low.ml.score
  • VBA32Trojan.Win32.Phishing

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Oct 18, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC
SHA-256
a453b3ea8d8133531fad26b18701c694c324cc201e3069d07e99f0e100908c1a
SHA-1
3229e8080975f4f5512d2382552f68c0389acff5
MD5
a7c8cf1d50ebe630a7d0c47686a0abbf

About this file

Installer.exe says it is Technitium Installer v4.4, 5.3 MB.

Claims to be
Technitium Installer v4.4From the file's own version information, written by whoever built it.
Original name
Installer.exeMatches the shared file name.
Type and size
Win32 EXE · 5.3 MB
Signer
UnsignedNo code signature.
First seen
Nov 19, 2015On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
3,646 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
5.51 of 8

First scanned Updated

Verdict history

  1. Malicious
  2. Suspiciousafter a new scan

Ratings change when antivirus engines, our checks or MalwareTips staff learn more about a file.

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

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

Is Installer.exe safe, or is it malware?
Installer.exe is rated Suspicious: some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. 4 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag it. 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 Installer.exe?
Installer.exe is a software installer, about 5.3 MB. Its version information says it is “Technitium Installer v4.4”. Version information is written by whoever built the file, so it is a claim, not proof of who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on Nov 19, 2015.
How many antivirus engines detected Installer.exe?
4 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag Installer.exe, including SentinelOne and Jiangmin. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
What should I do if I already installed 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 Installer.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of Installer.exe is a453b3ea8d8133531fad26b18701c694c324cc201e3069d07e99f0e100908c1a, and its MD5 is a7c8cf1d50ebe630a7d0c47686a0abbf. 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 Installer.exe?
This report reflects the scan on Oct 18, 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.

Scanned by
harlan4096Staff
Scan another
Check a different file
URL instead?
Check if a link is safe
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.