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Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 3 days ago

Is setup.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

This unsigned installer appears to be a cracked game repack; two engines flag it as cracking riskware or a generic trojan, though sandbox runs showed no clearly hostile behaviour.

Read the whole reasonShow less

Why Suspicious? 2 antivirus engines flag it and it created a file that is flagged as harmful.

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

Do not run this repack; get the software from its official distributor instead. If you already ran it, scan your system with your security software and keep 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 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

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setup.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

2 of 54 flagged

  • Flagged 2
  • No detection 52
  • No result 19
Filesetup.exe5.2 MBSHA-256 dfd653e6408d…0874d3
  • Code signing Unsigned
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 1y ago
2 of the 54 antivirus engines that checked it flag it, including Malwarebytes and G DATA.

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

Two of the 54 antivirus engines that checked it flag this unsigned installer, one labelling it cracking riskware. Sandbox runs show an Inno Setup installer that unpacks a game and fetches Microsoft runtime libraries, with no confirmed injection or known-bad hosts. One dropped file is listed in a public malware-sample database. Unofficial cracked software carries real risk.

Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
  • The combined sandbox verdict was clean, no high-risk techniques were confirmed, and none of the 27 checked hosts is known-bad, so the installer may only be an unauthorised game repack with no hidden payload.
  • The GData detection is a generic label rather than a named malware 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.

6 sources checked · all complete. See every source

Chapter 03

What it did in our test

It ran in 8 isolated tests; no test environment rated what it did as risky.

Test run summary

Capture complete
  • 8isolated sandbox runs
  • 33sandbox rule tags
  • 15spawned processes
  • 13network contacts
  • 40filesystem & 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: 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.

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

  • Note: Read the user name of the test computer.

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

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 changing how Windows loads code; nothing confirms it.

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

      setup.exe

      dfd653e6408d052246c5d471fe13dd7d3577ec24bf5cfbbead6878be840874d3

      Uploaded file

  2. Processes

    What ran

    2
    1. Evidence 2 of 7: ProcessSeen in the test run

      setup.exe

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

      Test run
    2. Evidence 3 of 7: ProcessSeen in the test run

      setup.tmp

      "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-N1HH8.tmp\setup.tmp" /SL5="$40034,4656373,140800,C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\setup.exe"

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  3. Files

    Created or changed

    2
    1. Evidence 4 of 7: Dropped fileWorked out from other results

      a6371461da7439f4ef7008ed53331209747cba960b85c70a902d46451247a29c

      A file it created, rated suspicious.

      Files it created
    2. Evidence 5 of 7: Written fileSeen in the test run

      setup.tmp

      C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-N1HH8.tmp\setup.tmp

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  4. Network

    Hosts contacted

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

      www.download.windowsupdate.com

      Contacted during the test run.

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

      download.microsoft.com

      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

2 of the 54 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 · 73 enginesCompleteRisk signal: 2 of 54 engines flagged it · 19 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxes · C2AE, CAPA, CAPE SandboxComplete8 runs: 1 clean, 7 without a verdict Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerComplete27 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 2

  • GData (major engine)Generic.Trojan.PSEB.LJJ4CV
  • MalwarebytesRiskWare.Crack

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Oct 23, 2026, 5:53 AM UTC
SHA-256
dfd653e6408d052246c5d471fe13dd7d3577ec24bf5cfbbead6878be840874d3
SHA-1
245435926ffc5e57d9fa52ccf66fd14490c222a5
MD5
3e2f9af812f1cd89a16dea1c4e9debb8

About this file

setup.exe says it is Planetary Annihilation: TITANS Setup (Planetary Annihilation: TITANS), 5.2 MB.

Claims to be
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS Setup (Planetary Annihilation: TITANS)From the file's own version information, written by whoever built it.
Type and size
Win32 EXE · 5.2 MB
Signer
UnsignedNo code signature.
First seen
Jun 28, 2025On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
41 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
5.55 of 8

First scanned

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

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

Is setup.exe safe, or is it malware?
setup.exe is rated Suspicious: some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. 2 of the 54 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 setup.exe?
setup.exe is a software installer, about 5.2 MB. Its version information says it is “Planetary Annihilation: TITANS Setup” (Planetary Annihilation: TITANS). 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 Jun 28, 2025.
How many antivirus engines detected setup.exe?
2 of the 54 antivirus engines that checked it flag setup.exe, including Malwarebytes and G DATA. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
What should I do if I already installed setup.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 setup.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of setup.exe is dfd653e6408d052246c5d471fe13dd7d3577ec24bf5cfbbead6878be840874d3, and its MD5 is 3e2f9af812f1cd89a16dea1c4e9debb8. 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 setup.exe?
This report reflects the scan on Oct 23, 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

Other files people checked with the same name. A matching name does not make two files the same: only the SHA-256 fingerprint identifies a file.

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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.