Safe
Unsigned security-software-named EXE triggers only low-tier engines and direct-IP heuristic, matching AV-on-AV false positive with all tier-1 engines clean.
dfb3d004af508f27f4…37ac62bdfbThe reasoning behind this verdict
The MT AI Engine weighs every signal from this scan — antivirus detections, sandbox behaviour, code signing, prevalence and historical matches — to reach a single, evidence-based verdict.
The detection profile shows minimal flags from non-tier1 engines with generic labels, a hallmark of heuristic false positives on security tools. Filename 'AiDefend.exe' and analysis flags confirm security software resemblance. Behavioural signals like direct Cloudflare IP contact trigger a heuristic but align with common app patterns, lacking offensive MITRE or sandbox malice. Unsigned status and rarity add minor risk, but clean tier1 consensus and no corroborating intel outweigh them.
Each signal cites a concrete token from the evidence the arbiter saw — engine name, MITRE technique, signer string, or an exact count.
3/71 engines malicious, tier1Malicious=0: alibabacloud/Trojan:Win/Lakaboy.LY (low_trust), Elastic/malicious (tier2), huorong/Ransom/Filecoder.c (tier2)
filenameAnalysis.looksLikeSecuritySoftware=true + triggeredHeuristics.filename_security_software fired
tier1ReportedClean=17/17, no tier1FamilyConsensus.family
behaviour.contactedIps=["162.159.36.2"] triggered MalwareTips.Synth.DirectIpC2 but no hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict
file.tags=["detect-debug-environment","peexe","64bits"], prevalence.classification="rare_new"
- 17/17 tier1 engines clean
- No tier1 malicious or family consensus
- No offensive MITRE techniques (offensiveCount=0)
- No malicious sandbox verdict
- No malicious dropped children or contacted hosts
- Unsigned executable (signing.signed=false)
- rare_new prevalence (1 submission, age 7 days)
- Direct IP contact without DNS (162.159.36.2)
- detect-debug-environment tag + T1497 virtualization technique
- No historical signer stats or similarHashes RAG
This file is safe based on our AI analysis—likely a legitimate security tool false-positived by heuristics. Download from official sources and scan with updated AV for caution.
What to do now
This file looks safe based on everything we checked.
This file is safe to use.
Good habit: only download files from the official website or an app store.
Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on so you stay protected.
What this file did when executed
This file was detonated in 1 sandbox and its runtime behaviour was observed.
Adversary techniques mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
- 162.159.36.2
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\XIW2UKQXV7QMYZNK7MZW.temp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\438facd9d0c4a815.customDestinations-ms
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\XIW2UKQXV7QMYZNK7MZW.temp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\KnownGameList.bin
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\GameDVR\KnownGameList.update
- Global\AiDefender_DHC_SingleInstance_v1
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Global\AiDefender_DHC_SingleInstance_v1
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\DBWinMutex
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 1 child at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- b76875c50ef704dbbf7f…6317d5Never scannednever seen before
YARA & heuristic rule matches
One or more medium-severity heuristic rules matched. Not definitive, but the patterns match known malware behaviour.
Sample contacted 1 external IP address(es) and zero domains. Benign software virtually always uses DNS; no-DNS direct-IP C2 is a strong malware indicator because it bypasses reputation systems and dodges domain-based blocklists.
Evidence162.159.36.2
3 detections across 76 engines
Section entropy & packers
Section-level entropy and packer detection from the PE header. Nothing suspicious here — entropy is within the normal range for unpacked code.
How widely this file has been seen
Barely seen in the wild and first surfaced recently. This is the footprint of targeted malware the AV industry hasn't signatured yet — extra scrutiny is warranted.
Forensic fingerprint
- File name
- AiDefend.exe
- Size
- 4.09 MB
- MIME type
- (unknown)
- Detected type
- Win32 EXE
- SHA-256
- dfb3d004af508f27f414a64b94b4a45b880f3e6461f982282a988037ac62bdfb
- MD5
- 6209a05a5d2c0d80cb0d5b54698f90b1
- SHA-1
- 6c0081c1d7d3e1f166ba32f181647b359e77d806
- PE imphash
- 8922c919d340197b9456afe1ca5a9b3c
- First seen (VT)
- 4/16/2026, 3:37:52 PM
- Last analysis (VT)
- 4/23/2026, 3:39:22 PM
- First scan (MalwareTips)
- 4/21/2026, 7:47:32 AM
- Last scan (MalwareTips)
- 4/24/2026, 2:07:28 AM
Safety FAQ
Common questions about AiDefend.exe, answered from the scan data above.
- AiDefend.exe appears safe. 73 of 76 antivirus engines report it clean, with only 3 low-confidence detections that read as false positives. As a habit, only run files you downloaded from the official source, since attackers sometimes distribute trojanised copies of legitimate software under the same name.
- AiDefend.exe is a Windows executable program, about 4.1 MB. Our analysis found no threat indicators for it. A file's name can be reused by different files, so we identify it by its cryptographic hash (below).
- 3 of 76 antivirus engines flagged AiDefend.exe, 3 of them as outright malicious. A small number of detections can include false positives, so we weigh which engines flagged it and what else the file does, not just the raw count.
- The SHA-256 hash of AiDefend.exe is dfb3d004af508f27f414a64b94b4a45b880f3e6461f982282a988037ac62bdfb, and its MD5 is 6209a05a5d2c0d80cb0d5b54698f90b1. 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.
- Based on this scan, yes — AiDefend.exe shows no threat indicators. 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 while we report it clean, that is most often a false positive, but verify the source before overriding your antivirus.
- This report reflects the scan run on April 21, 2026. Because a file's hash never changes, the identity of AiDefend.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.
Reviews & malware reports(0)
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