MalwareTips
Threat LensFile scan report

Is oalinst.exe safe?

Verdict
Safe

No engine detected malware, while the verified Creative Labs signature and extensive distribution history strongly support an established legacy OpenAL component.

The file received no malicious or suspicious detections from 75 engines and carries a verified Creative Labs Inc signature. Its history spans more than 112,000 submissions since 2009, while the sandbox produced no malicious verdict or malicious child, although some sensitive installer-like techniques warrant sourcing it from an official channel.

Run with normal care

Use the file if it came from an official or otherwise trusted package and its hash is expected. Keep security protection enabled and replace it with an official copy if its origin is uncertain.

Read the full analysis
Saved file evidenceAntivirus consensus
0of 75 flagged
Flagged 0No detection 75
Digital specimenoalinst.exeb8f39714d41e009f75…881ac5b42d86fd
Size790.5 KB
Code signingCreative Labs Inc
SandboxRuntime complete
First seen17y ago
Evidence3 priority signals
0 of 75 antivirus engines flagged the file.

Recommended next actions

01

Before running

Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source you independently trust.

02

If you already ran it

Keep normal device protection enabled and stop if the file behaves unexpectedly.

Chapter 02

Intelligence

The saved assessment, checked against the scan evidence and recorded coverage.

MT AI Engine · Verdict analysis

The reasoning behind this verdict

This section explains the evidence supporting the verdict and keeps conflicting or missing signals visible.

92%Confidence
Very high
Analyst conclusion

The file received no malicious or suspicious detections from 75 engines and carries a verified Creative Labs Inc signature. Its history spans more than 112,000 submissions since 2009, while the sandbox produced no malicious verdict or malicious child, although some sensitive installer-like techniques warrant sourcing it from an official channel.

Where this verdict could be wrong4 caveats
  • The completed sandbox mapped activity to offensive techniques T1055, T1543.003, and T1562.001, although it issued no malicious sandbox verdict.
  • contactedHosts=null leaves the observed external IP addresses without a complete saved reputation cross-check.
  • YARAify matched one rule, 'pdb_YARAify', but its PDB-oriented description is not a malware-family identification.
  • File tags include 'invalid-signature' and 'revoked-cert', despite signing.verified=true; this may reflect the age or present trust status of the certificate.

These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.

Recommended action

Use the file if it came from an official or otherwise trusted package and its hash is expected. Keep security protection enabled and replace it with an official copy if its origin is uncertain.

Scan transparency

Coverage & freshness

4 of 5 complete

Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.

  • Antivirus

    Complete

    0 of 75 engines flagged the file.

  • Sandbox

    Complete

    1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.

  • Network

    Partial

    20 runtime contacts were observed without a completed reputation cross-check.

  • YARA

    Complete

    3 signature or behavior rules matched.

  • External intel

    Complete

    3 of 3 independent reference sources completed.

Chapter 03

Behavior

Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.

Runtime flight recorder

Capture complete
  • 1isolated sandbox run
  • 24MITRE ATT&CK techniques
  • 15spawned processes
  • 20network contacts
  • 40filesystem & mutex artifacts
Recorded behavior

Attack story

Runtime observations grouped by analysis stage. Arrows organize the stages; they do not claim chronology or causality.

ObservedDerived

7 recorded facts from one runtime window. Every fact remains independently traceable in Analyst mode.

Chapter 04

Detection & Forensics

Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.

Chapter 05

Safety & 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.

  1. Recovery step 01

    Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source you independently trust.

  2. Recovery step 02

    A clean result reduces known risk, but it cannot guarantee that every new or targeted threat has been detected.

  3. 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.

7 evidence-based answers
Is oalinst.exe safe?
Evidence-based answer
oalinst.exe appears safe. 0 of 75 antivirus engines flagged it. It carries a verified digital signature from Creative Labs Inc. Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source you independently trust.
What is oalinst.exe?
Evidence-based answer
oalinst.exe is a Windows executable program, about 791 KB. Our analysis did not identify a verdict-driving threat signal. It carries a verified digital signature from Creative Labs Inc. A file's name can be reused by different files, so we identify it by its cryptographic hash (below).
How many antivirus engines detected oalinst.exe?
Evidence-based answer
None — 0 of 75 antivirus engines flagged oalinst.exe. That's reassuring, though it is not proof that a file is safe, so we also weigh its behaviour, identity, and reputation.
Is oalinst.exe digitally signed?
Evidence-based answer
Yes — oalinst.exe carries a valid digital signature from Creative Labs Inc, which confirms the file hasn't been tampered with since that publisher signed it. A valid signature is a positive signal, but note that malware is occasionally signed with stolen or abused certificates, so it isn't proof of safety on its own.
What is the SHA-256 hash of oalinst.exe?
Evidence-based answer
The SHA-256 hash of oalinst.exe is b8f39714d41e009f75efb183c37100f2cbabb71784bbd243be881ac5b42d86fd, and its MD5 is 694f54bd227916b89fc3eb1db53f0685. This hash is the file's unique fingerprint — two files with the same SHA-256 are identical. Use it to confirm you're looking at exactly this file (not just one with the same name) when comparing against antivirus databases or a download's published checksum.
Is it safe to run oalinst.exe?
Evidence-based answer
Based on the recorded evidence, oalinst.exe has a low observed risk and is properly signed. The important caveat is source: make sure you downloaded it from the official website or a trusted store, because attackers sometimes distribute malware-laced copies under a legitimate file's name. If your own antivirus flags it, verify the source and the exact hash before overriding the warning.
How up to date is this analysis of oalinst.exe?
Evidence-based answer
This report reflects the scan run on September 23, 2026. Because a file's hash never changes, the identity of oalinst.exe is fixed — but antivirus coverage improves over time, so a file that looks clean today can pick up detections later (and vice-versa). If you need the latest picture, MalwareTips staff can re-run the analysis from scratch.
Chapter 06

Community

Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.

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The raw file is processed temporarily and is not retained after processing. Its hash and report are public and permanent, so the next person who checks the same file gets an instant answer. Unknown files may be submitted to VirusTotal for analysis. If you ran this file on your computer and are worried, scan your system with an up-to-date antivirus and change critical passwords from a different device.