MalwareTips

File scan report

Scan another file

Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 5 months ago

Is HRKill.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

A signed Huorong process-killing utility that loads kernel drivers; 4 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flagged it, including Sophos as a potentially unwanted HRSword…

Read the whole reasonShow less

Why Suspicious? 4 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

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 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

HRKill.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
FileHRKill.exe2.0 MBSHA-256 d7212aa08e8b…174edc
  • Code signing 北京火绒网络科技有限公司
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 5mo ago
It has a valid digital signature from 北京火绒网络科技有限公司.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

4 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

This file carries a valid signature from the Huorong company, and Sophos labels it the HRSword security tool as a potentially unwanted program. During analysis it wrote several randomly named drivers into the Windows drivers folder, which fits a tool that terminates protected processes. It is rarely submitted, and that driver capability can be misused to stop security software.

Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
  • The valid signature from the Huorong company and the Sophos label naming its HRSword tool suggest this is a genuine vendor utility rather than malware.
  • 16 major antivirus engines, including Kaspersky, ESET and BitDefender, did not flag the file.

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 not needed or not applicable. 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
  • 19sandbox rule tags
  • 8spawned processes
  • 0network contacts
  • 18filesystem & 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: Checked whether it was running on a test computer.

  • Moderate concern: Hid files or windows on the test computer.

  • 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: Loaded extra code modules while running.

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 contacting a server, but no contacted host 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.

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 5: FileSeen in the test run

      HRKill.exe

      d7212aa08e8b02523f616b5890ce3b36fa0b175ce610ba43eca4ec4eed174edc

      Uploaded file

  2. Processes

    What ran

    2
    1. Evidence 2 of 5: ProcessSeen in the test run

      software.exe

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

      Test run
    2. Evidence 3 of 5: ProcessSeen in the test run

      BF87.tmp

      "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\BF87.tmp" 688

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  3. Files

    Created or changed

    2
    1. Evidence 4 of 5: Written fileSeen in the test run

      BF87.tmp

      C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\BF87.tmp

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

      3PMQFOOk.sys

      C:\Windows\sysnative\drivers\3PMQFOOk.sys

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

5 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; signed by 北京火绒网络科技有限公司.

Sources checked

Every check behind this verdict

6 sources checked · 5 complete · 1 not needed or not applicable. 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 sandboxesCompleteRuntime behaviour was recorded Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerNot neededThe sandbox recorded no contacted hosts to checkNo date recorded
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesCompleteNo rule matched
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

Engines that flagged it 4

  • Microsoft (major engine)Trojan:Win32/Wacatac.B!ml
  • Sophos (major engine)Huorong HRSword (PUA)
  • BkavW32.Malware.D9D00AF2
  • CylanceUnsafe

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
May 19, 2026, 5:34 PM UTC
SHA-256
d7212aa08e8b02523f616b5890ce3b36fa0b175ce610ba43eca4ec4eed174edc
SHA-1
84575c61ef1716f4893e6122feac196143008d6f
MD5
c6f185c1f4a91b6781dfc1cc066a383c

About this file

HRKill.exe is a Win32 EXE file of 2.0 MB.

Type and size
Win32 EXE · 2.0 MB
Signer
北京火绒网络科技有限公司Valid code signature.
First seen
May 19, 2026On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
2 distinct sourcesRarely seen: few people have submitted this exact file.
Packer
UPX (section names)Packing hides code; legitimate installers use it too.
Entropy
7.63 of 8A code section is highly compressed or encrypted.

First scanned Updated

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

Short answers to the 7 questions people ask most about this file.

Is HRKill.exe safe, or is it malware?
HRKill.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 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 HRKill.exe?
HRKill.exe is a Windows program, about 2.0 MB. It carries no version information saying what it is or who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on May 19, 2026.
How many antivirus engines detected HRKill.exe?
4 of the 71 antivirus engines that checked it flag HRKill.exe, including Microsoft and Sophos. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
What should I do if I already ran HRKill.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.
Is HRKill.exe digitally signed?
Yes. HRKill.exe has a valid digital signature from 北京火绒网络科技有限公司, which shows the file hasn't been changed since that publisher signed it. Malware is sometimes signed with stolen certificates, so a signature alone isn't proof of safety.
What is the SHA-256 hash of HRKill.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of HRKill.exe is d7212aa08e8b02523f616b5890ce3b36fa0b175ce610ba43eca4ec4eed174edc, and its MD5 is c6f185c1f4a91b6781dfc1cc066a383c. 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 HRKill.exe?
This report reflects the scan on May 19, 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

Related file reports

Recent reports on other files with the same rating.

All file reports
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.