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Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 5 hours ago

Is messagelogger.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

A small, rarely submitted, unsigned .NET program with a logger-style name that three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged generically, while sandbox runs showed no clearly hostile behaviour.

Why Suspicious? 3 antivirus engines flag it; nothing else confirms it.

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

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

Treat the file with caution and run it only if you trust its source. Keep your antivirus protection enabled.

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.

Why we think so

Share this file report

messagelogger.exe: Suspicious — MalwareTips file scan

The link always shows the latest result for this exact file (its SHA-256 fingerprint).

Antivirus results

3 of 70 flagged

  • Flagged 3
  • No detection 67
  • No result 4
Filemessagelogger.exe59.4 kBSHA-256 c8e1e5c5cf8d…ca74c6
  • Code signing Unsigned
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 3y ago
3 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it, including Symantec (Norton) and APEX.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

3 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

Three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged this unsigned .NET program, including one major antivirus engine with a generic machine-learning label. The sandbox runs were clean and no malware family is named, but the file is rarely seen and nothing confirms it is legitimate.

Full reasoning

Three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged the file, but only Symantec is a major antivirus engine and its label is a generic machine-learning one. No family consensus exists and no reference database lists the file. The combined sandbox verdict was clean, with no injected processes and no malicious hosts contacted. The file is unsigned and was submitted by only three sources, so nothing positively establishes it as legitimate. Similar files in our history share only an import table and tell us little. The name suggests logging functionality, which fits both a harmless utility and monitoring malware. The evidence is mixed, so we treat the file with caution.

Detailed assessment

What We Detected

Three of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged this 58 KB unsigned .NET executable: APEX, Bkav and Symantec. Symantec's label is a machine-learning rule-based rather than a named family, and 17 other major antivirus engines found nothing.

Threat Behavior

Four sandbox runs gave a combined clean verdict. No process injection, dropped files or malicious contacted hosts were recorded; the only network contacts were the analysis machine's own background traffic. A defence-evasion technique label was mapped without supporting evidence, so we do not count it. The file's code section has high entropy, which can mean compression or obfuscation, but no packer was identified.

What To Do Now

Do not run this file unless you know where it came from and trust the source. If you did run it, scan the system with up-to-date protection.

Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
  • The combined sandbox verdict was clean and showed no injection, persistence or malicious network contacts.
  • Only one major antivirus engine flagged it, with a generic machine-learning label rather than a named family.

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

Points in its favour
  • The combined sandbox verdict was clean with no injection or persistence.
  • None of the contacted hosts were known malicious or suspicious.
  • No reference database lists the file as malware and no malware family is named.
Points against
  • Three engines flagged the file, including one major antivirus engine with a machine-learning label.
  • The file is unsigned and was submitted by only three sources, so little reputation history exists.
  • The code section is highly compressed or encrypted, which can hide contents from scanners.

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
  • 6sandbox rule tags
  • 1spawned processes
  • 1network contact
  • 9filesystem & 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).

  • Note: Deleted files or logs during the test run (installers often clean up after themselves).

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

  • Note: Connected to 1 server during the test run.

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

  • 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 4: FileSeen in the test run

      messagelogger.exe

      c8e1e5c5cf8dde71353a6dad7453cf81b5ee7b41a1b76c4e14d9b0f9b3ca74c6

      Uploaded file

  2. Processes

    What ran

    1
    1. Evidence 2 of 4: ProcessSeen in the test run

      cat.exe

      Test run

  3. Files

    Created or changed

    1
    1. Evidence 3 of 4: Written fileSeen in the test run

      Roaming

      C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming

      Test run

  4. Network

    Hosts contacted

    1
    1. Evidence 4 of 4: Contacted hostSeen in the test run

      104.86.182.10

      Contacted during the test run.

      Test run

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

Runtime behaviour

What this file did when executed

This file was detonated in 4 sandboxes and its runtime behaviour was observed.

1 clean detonation

Sandbox verdicts

1
  • VT: CLEANclean

Techniques observed in the sandbox

6

MITRE ATT&CK techniques the sandbox mapped. Highlighted ones are rare in normal software; the others are common in legitimate programs too.

  • T1010
  • T1027· Obfuscated code
  • T1027.002· Obfuscated code
  • T1070.006· Covers its tracks
  • T1082· System recon
  • T1562.001· Disables security

Observed activity

Processes started
1

Programs the file ran, with their command lines.

  • cat.exe%SAMPLEPATH%\cat.exe
Network contacts
1

1 host, listed as 1 address. Links show the host and path only.

  • IP address104.86.182.10
Files
9

Files the file created, changed or deleted.

  • WrittenC:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming
  • Deleted%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\IE\KLT1I0ZU\update50[1].xml
  • DeletedC:\Windows\System32\spp\store\2.0\cache\cache.dat
  • DeletedC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER311D.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
  • DeletedC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER3255.tmp.csv
  • DeletedC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER3285.tmp.txt
Show all 9 entries for files
  • DeletedC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER36FA.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
  • DeletedC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER370B.tmp.csv
  • DeletedC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER370C.tmp.txt
Sandbox background — not the file
3

The analysis machine's own processes and connections, recorded in every run.

  • VM processwuapihost.exeC:\Windows\System32\wuapihost.exe
  • VM host192.229.211.108
  • VM host20.99.133.109

Chapter 04

Technical details

3 of the 70 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 · 74 enginesCompleteRisk signal: 3 of 70 engines flagged it · 4 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxes · C2AE, Microsoft Sysinternals, VirusTotal JujuboxComplete4 runs: 1 clean, 3 without a verdict Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerComplete3 contacted hosts checked Details for contacted hosts
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesCompleteNo rule matched
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

Engines that flagged it 3

  • Symantec (major engine)ML.Attribute.HighConfidence
  • APEXMalicious
  • BkavW32.AIDetectNet.01

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Nov 10, 2026, 11:28 PM UTC
SHA-256
c8e1e5c5cf8dde71353a6dad7453cf81b5ee7b41a1b76c4e14d9b0f9b3ca74c6
SHA-1
c0a34bb9eb7dabeb64a47f98b98451f08357f4d2
MD5
09285d16c40d4c96e96648dd7d13ef48

About this file

messagelogger.exe is a Win32 EXE file of 59.4 kB.

Claims to be
messageloggerFrom the file's own version information, written by whoever built it.
Original name
messagelogger.exeMatches the shared file name.
Type and size
Win32 EXE · 59.4 kB
Signer
UnsignedNo code signature.
First seen
Mar 22, 2023On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
3 distinct sourcesRarely seen: few people have submitted this exact file.
Packer
None detected
Entropy
7.70 of 8

First scanned

Antivirus consensus

3 of 70 engines flagged this file

3 malicious0 suspicious67 not flagged4 no result

4 of the 74 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 engines
    1flagged
  • Tier-236 engines
    0flagged
  • Low-trust16 engines
    2flagged
View all 74 engine results
  • APEXMalicious: Malicious
  • BkavMalicious: W32.AIDetectNet.01
  • SymantecMalicious: ML.Attribute.HighConfidence
  • AcronisClean
  • AhnLab-V3Clean
  • AlibabaClean
  • ALYacClean
  • Antiy-AVLClean
  • ArcabitClean
  • AvastClean
  • Avast-MobileNo result
  • AVGClean
  • AviraClean
  • BaiduClean
  • BitDefenderClean
  • BitDefenderFalxNo result
  • BitDefenderThetaClean
  • CAT-QuickHealClean
  • ClamAVClean
  • CMCClean
  • CrowdStrikeClean
  • CylanceClean
  • CynetClean
  • CyrenClean
  • DeepInstinctClean
  • DrWebClean
  • ElasticClean
  • EmsisoftClean
  • ESET-NOD32Clean
  • F-SecureClean
  • FireEyeClean
  • FortinetClean
  • GDataClean
  • GoogleClean
  • GridinsoftClean
  • IkarusClean
  • JiangminClean
  • K7AntiVirusClean
  • K7GWClean
  • KasperskyClean
  • LionicClean
  • MalwarebytesClean
  • MAXClean
  • MaxSecureClean
  • McAfeeClean
  • McAfee-GW-EditionClean
  • MicrosoftClean
  • MicroWorld-eScanClean
  • NANO-AntivirusClean
  • PaloaltoClean
  • PandaClean
  • RisingClean
  • SangforClean
  • SentinelOneClean
  • SophosClean
  • SUPERAntiSpywareClean
  • SymantecMobileInsightNo result
  • TACHYONClean
  • tehtrisClean
  • TencentClean
  • TrapmineClean
  • TrendMicroClean
  • TrendMicro-HouseCallClean
  • TrustlookNo result
  • VBA32Clean
  • VIPREClean
  • VirITClean
  • ViRobotClean
  • WebrootClean
  • XcitiumClean
  • YandexClean
  • ZillyaClean
  • ZoneAlarmClean
  • ZonerClean
PE forensics

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.

ent 7.70Unpacked
Section entropy3 sections
.text
7.87
.rsrc
4.09
.reloc
0.08
0.0Packed threshold 7.28.0
Compiler / installer
.NET executable

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.

Prevalence

How widely this file has been seen

Rarely uploaded, and first seen more than two weeks ago. Often niche legitimate software or internal tooling; not a strong malware signal on its own.

Rare & old
Unique uploaders
3
Very few people have ever uploaded this — rare.
Total submissions
3
Includes repeat uploads by the same source.
First seen
4y ago
Mar 22, 2023
Prevalence quadrant
Rare · New
Needs evidence-led scrutiny
Common · New
Just-released software
here
Rare · Old
Niche or internal tooling
Common · Old
Often established software

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

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

Is messagelogger.exe safe, or is it malware?
messagelogger.exe is rated Suspicious: some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. 3 of the 70 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 messagelogger.exe?
messagelogger.exe is a Windows program, about 59.4 kB. Its version information says it is “messagelogger”. 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 Mar 22, 2023.
How many antivirus engines detected messagelogger.exe?
3 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag messagelogger.exe, including Symantec (Norton) and APEX. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
I already downloaded and ran messagelogger.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.
What is the SHA-256 hash of messagelogger.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of messagelogger.exe is c8e1e5c5cf8dde71353a6dad7453cf81b5ee7b41a1b76c4e14d9b0f9b3ca74c6, and its MD5 is 09285d16c40d4c96e96648dd7d13ef48. 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 messagelogger.exe?
This report reflects the scan on Nov 10, 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

Recent reports on other files with the same rating.

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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.