Is eicar-zip2.zip safe?
This ZIP contains the standardized EICAR antivirus test pattern, intentionally designed to trigger security products without carrying a real malware payload.
The archive is a recognized EICAR antivirus test file, confirmed by numerous independent engines, including Microsoft, Kaspersky, BitDefender, ESET, and Avast. Its detections are intentional and demonstrate that security controls can recognize the harmless test pattern; it should not be treated as ordinary software.
e1105070ba82800750…82b7cae747b397Recommended next actions
Before opening or extracting
Open or extract it only when its sender or download source has been independently verified.
If you already opened or extracted it
Keep normal device protection enabled and stop if the file behaves unexpectedly.
Intelligence
The saved assessment, checked against the scan evidence and recorded coverage.
The reasoning behind this verdict
This section explains the evidence supporting the verdict and keeps conflicting or missing signals visible.
The archive is a recognized EICAR antivirus test file, confirmed by numerous independent engines, including Microsoft, Kaspersky, BitDefender, ESET, and Avast. Its detections are intentional and demonstrate that security controls can recognize the harmless test pattern; it should not be treated as ordinary software.
The decisive signal is engines.anyTestFileLabel=true, which requires corroborating test-file identifications. Of 75 engines, 58 detected the archive, while 11 tier-1 engines agreed specifically on EICAR. EICAR is a standardized, non-malicious string deliberately made to activate antivirus defenses, so the high detection count is expected. A sandbox produced conflicting outcomes and recorded techniques including T1055, but that evidence does not outweigh the precise test-file consensus. The sample is also widely known, with 8,944 submissions from 3,474 sources since 2006.
What We Detected
This 308-byte ZIP contains the standardized EICAR antivirus test pattern. A total of 58 of 75 engines detected it, and 11 tier-1 engines agreed on the EICAR family. Microsoft, Kaspersky, BitDefender, ESET, and Avast explicitly identified it as a test file rather than a real virus.
Threat Behavior
EICAR is intentionally designed to trigger antivirus products so administrators and users can verify that protection is working. One sandbox recorded a malware outcome and mapped activity to T1055 and T1543.002, while another saved outcome was clean; these conflicting observations are less specific than the broad EICAR consensus. The one distinct contacted domain received full cache coverage with no malicious or suspicious match, and none of 10 inspected dropped children was identified as malicious.
What To Do Now
No remediation is required if the archive was deliberately downloaded for an antivirus test. Keep endpoint protection enabled and allow it to quarantine or delete the file after testing. If its presence was unexpected, remove it and confirm who introduced the test file.
Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
- behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=true, although the saved sandbox verdicts conflict and include both malicious and clean outcomes.
- triggeredHeuristics identified T1055 Process Injection and behaviour.offensiveTechniques also lists T1543.002, but the supplied mapping does not establish operator intent.
- YARAify coverage was unavailable because externalIntel.errors.yaraify reports a timeout.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- engines.anyTestFileLabel=true confirms corroborated test-file labeling.
- 11 tier-1 engines agree specifically on the EICAR family.
- Microsoft, Kaspersky, BitDefender, ESET-NOD32, and Avast explicitly identify EICAR.
- The sample has been known since 2006 and submitted 8,944 times.
- droppedChildren.hasMaliciousChild=false across 10 inspected children.
- 58/75 engines trigger because the archive contains the EICAR detection pattern.
- behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=true, although the recorded sandbox outcomes conflict.
- Runtime evidence mapped activity to T1055 and T1543.002.
- The file may trigger alerts, quarantine actions, or email-gateway blocking as designed.
Keep antivirus protection enabled and let it quarantine or remove the archive after testing. If the EICAR test was not intentional, delete the file and verify its source.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete58 of 75 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial1 of 2 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete.
YARA
Complete1 signature or behavior rule matched.
External intel
PartialIndependent reference checks were attempted but are incomplete.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
Runtime flight recorder
Capture complete- 1isolated sandbox run
- 12MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 15spawned processes
- 2network contacts
- 40filesystem & mutex artifacts
What this file did when executed
This file was detonated in 1 sandbox; 1 returned "malicious".
Adversary techniques mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
- nexus.officeapps.live.com
- 142.251.183.94
- HKU\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{72853161-30C5-4D22-B7F9-0BBC1D38A37E}\iexplore\Count
- HKU\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{72853161-30C5-4D22-B7F9-0BBC1D38A37E}\iexplore\Type
- HKU\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{72853161-30C5-4D22-B7F9-0BBC1D38A37E}\iexplore\Time
- HKU\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\Locked
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\00006109110000000000000000F01FEC\Usage\ProductFiles
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\00006109110000000000000000F01FEC\Usage\EXCELFiles
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\{7B0E1595-0A90-4EFC-8BA4-C594205D542B} - OProcSessId.dat
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WebServiceCache\AllUsers\officeclient.microsoft.com\73E73C88-D384-47A9-B9AF-CF723F3FCB04
- C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\~$eicarcom2_zip.xlsx
- C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\eicarcom2_zip.xlsx
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Caches
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Schemas\MS Excel_restart.xml
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WebServiceCache\AllUsers\cdn.odc.officeapps.live.com\213BA9C3-51F8-4F59-BB2C-76D40BDBFC56
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WebServiceCache\AllUsers\cdn.odc.officeapps.live.com\34D2A5D0-6937-403A-B5A1-AC3DFA103515
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WebServiceCache\AllUsers\cdn.odc.officeapps.live.com\3C527945-7477-4B77-BC00-7229EF80235F
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WebServiceCache\AllUsers\cdn.odc.officeapps.live.com\3ED75810-4900-47E1-90CB-54F5D56114A9
- Local\10MU_ACBPIDS_S-1-5-5-0-189384
- Local\10MU_ACB10_S-1-5-5-0-189384
- Global\552FFA80-3393-423d-8671-7BA046BB5906
- Local\ZonesCacheCounterMutex
- Local\ZonesLockedCacheCounterMutex
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 97da3c982874ec87dcba…014346Never scannednever seen before
- 7e3d7128faec4c140568…a085caNever scannednever seen before
- 1cb1c921d849e55b3cac…34b48eNever scannednever seen before
- 7371599b1359736cfdfb…d3ac3fNever scannednever seen before
- 83ca278d6fd45706a028…ea707aNever scannednever seen before
- 2637624f94b3359b9fc1…5cbf43Never scannednever seen before
- 1c05c1ad6fc099cbe744…9f2937Never scannednever seen before
- dcea80f26f6bc901bfdb…c24560Never scannednever seen before
- 22906887d421aaa0d447…ea792aNever scannednever seen before
- 1c1e8b2555ac0f3e4253…93901eNever scannednever seen before
Detection & Forensics
Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.
Evidence integrity
Chain of custody for the facts preserved in this report.
- 1rule hit recorded
- 58 / 75engines flagged
- 3,474sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
This is a recognized antivirus test file, not real malware; antivirus detections are expected.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceCorroborated test-file classificationObserved at - 02
The hash has a long, established submission history across 3,474 sources.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSubmission historyObserved at - 03
One or more independent reference checks were incomplete or unavailable.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceExternal-intelligence coverageObserved at - 04
Scanned file: eicar-zip2.zip — e1105070ba828007508566e28a2b8d4c65d192e9eaf3b7868382b7cae747b397
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\EXCEL.EXE" "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\eicarcom2_zip.xlsx" /dde
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\EXCEL.EXE" /automation -Embedding
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: {7B0E1595-0A90-4EFC-8BA4-C594205D542B} - OProcSessId.dat — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\{7B0E1595-0A90-4EFC-8BA4-C594205D542B} - OProcSessId.dat
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: 73E73C88-D384-47A9-B9AF-CF723F3FCB04 — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WebServiceCache\AllUsers\officeclient.microsoft.com\73E73C88-D384-47A9-B9AF-CF723F3FCB04
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: nexus.officeapps.live.com — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: 142.251.183.94 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
The available sources did not agree on a named threat category.
Available reference checks returned no match, but at least one source was unavailable. This is not a clean result.
Signatures and behavior heuristics
A community signature or high-severity behavioral heuristic matched. Signatures identify known patterns; heuristics are strong leads but are not proof on their own.
The saved runtime evidence maps this activity to MITRE T1055 (Process Injection). The mapping supports possible process injection, but it does not prove the exact injection method or the operator's intent.
Evidence"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\EXCEL.EXE" "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\eicarcom2_zip.xlsx" /dde
58 of 75 engines flagged this file
View all 75 engine results
PE structure
Not applicablePE structure analysis applies to Windows executable formats, not this file type.
How widely this file has been seen
Widely seen in the wild for a long time. High prior this is legitimate; isolated detections on common-old files are usually false positives.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- eicar-zip2.zip
- Format
- ZIP
- Code signing
- Not applicable to this file type
- Size
- 308 B
- Last analyzed
- Sep 28, 2026, 3:24 AM UTC
e1105070ba828007508566e28a2b8d4c65d192e9eaf3b7868382b7cae747b397Safety & 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.
- Recovery step 01
Open or extract it only when its sender or download source has been independently verified.
- Recovery step 02
A clean result reduces known risk, but it cannot guarantee that every new or targeted threat has been detected.
- 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.
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Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.