Is sleep.exe safe?
Eleven of 75 engines and a low-trust malicious-file intelligence hit raise concern, but tier-1 engines and the completed sandbox provide no corroboration.
The file has a meaningful cluster of generic and heuristic detections, plus an external malicious-file intelligence association. However, no tier-1 engine detected it, labels lack family consensus, and one completed sandbox showed no offensive-only behavior or malicious verdict, leaving materially mixed evidence.
e44d96211d673d8edb…b0764a2fad4f60Recommended next actions
Before running
Do not run it until the source and publisher can be verified independently.
If you already ran it
Stop using it, scan the device, and watch for unexpected behavior or security alerts. Get a fresh copy from the developer's official site or an official app store.
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 file has a meaningful cluster of generic and heuristic detections, plus an external malicious-file intelligence association. However, no tier-1 engine detected it, labels lack family consensus, and one completed sandbox showed no offensive-only behavior or malicious verdict, leaving materially mixed evidence.
Eleven of 75 engines detected the 752-byte executable, including six tier-2 engines, but none of the tier-1 engines did. Detection names are mostly generic, heuristic, or machine-learning labels and do not converge on a credible family. An external intelligence record associates the hash with a malicious-file repository, although that record carries limited trust. One sandbox run observed six broadly common techniques but no offensive-only techniques, malicious verdict, persistence, or dropped payload. The single observed domain was inspected without a harmful result, but the observed IP addresses lack documented reputation coverage, so network evidence is incomplete. The unsigned status and absence of trusted publisher or similar-file history prevent a confident benign explanation.
What We Detected
Eleven of 75 antivirus engines flagged this 752-byte Win32 executable. The detections include Elastic's high-confidence generic result, SentinelOne's suspicious static classification, Malwarebytes' heuristic label, and generic Trojan labels from Yandex, AhnLab-V3, Antiy-AVL, and Rising. No tier-1 engine detected it, and the engines did not agree on a specific malware family.
Threat Behavior
One completed sandbox run recorded six broadly common techniques, including T1027.002, T1056, T1059, T1071, T1082, and T1574.002, but none were categorized as offensive-only evidence. The run produced no malicious sandbox verdict, persistence indicator, or dropped-file hash. The observed Microsoft-hosted domain had a non-harmful cached result; however, reputation coverage for the five observed IP addresses was not documented, so the network assessment is incomplete. External intelligence links the hash to malshare.com with trust 30, which adds concern but is not conclusive by itself.
What To Do Now
Do not execute the file on a production or personal system unless its origin and intended function can be independently verified. Keep endpoint protection enabled, quarantine the sample, and obtain a fresh copy from a trusted source if the file is required.
Where this verdict could be wrong4 caveats
- Sixteen tier-1 engines, including Avast, BitDefender, ESET-NOD32, Fortinet, and GData, did not detect the sample.
- The completed sandbox produced no malicious verdict, no offensive-only techniques, no persistence indicators, and no dropped-file hashes.
- The inspected no complete contacted-host reputation result was available, but the five observed IP addresses were not documented as inspected.
- The file has been known since 2008, is not packed, and peAnalysis.highEntropyCode=false.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- tier1Malicious=0, with 16 tier-1 engines reporting clean.
- behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=false in one completed sandbox.
- behaviour.offensiveCount=0 and no persistence indicators were recorded.
- No dropped-file hashes or malicious child files were observed.
- peAnalysis.likelyPacked=false and peAnalysis.highEntropyCode=false.
- 11/75 antivirus engines reported malicious results.
- Six tier-2 engines flagged the sample despite no tier-1 detections.
- externalIntel.circl.knownMalicious links the hash to malshare.com.
- The executable is unsigned and has no established signer history.
- No similarHashes history supports a known benign origin.
- Reputation coverage is incomplete for the five contacted IP addresses.
Quarantine the executable and verify its source before any use; replace it with a trusted copy where possible. Keep antivirus and endpoint protection enabled.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete11 of 75 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial1 of 6 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete.
YARA
CompleteRule evaluation completed with no recorded matches.
External intel
Complete3 of 3 independent reference sources completed.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
Runtime flight recorder
Capture complete- 1isolated sandbox run
- 6MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 4spawned processes
- 6network contacts
- 3filesystem & mutex artifacts
What this file does
Observed actions and their security significance
High concern: Used an input-capture technique that can record credentials or keystrokes.
High concern: Manipulated how the operating system loads code, which can redirect execution.
Moderate concern: Contained obfuscated or packed code that makes inspection harder.
Moderate concern: Runs hidden system commands (script or shell).
Moderate concern: Communicated over a common application protocol; malware can use this for command-and-control.
Note: Collects details about your system.
These are observed capabilities from an isolated analysis. A technique does not prove malicious intent on its own, and the file never ran on your device.
Attack story
Runtime observations grouped by analysis stage. Arrows organize the stages; they do not claim chronology or causality.
Input file
The submitted object
- FileObserved
sleep.exe
e44d96211d673d8edb9ca9da32c8c35e50b22ef51cea5de425b0764a2fad4f60
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\file.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
%SAMPLEPATH%\e44d96211d673d8edb9ca9da32c8c35e50b22ef51cea5de425b0764a2fad4f60.exe
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
Connect
\Device\ConDrv\\Connect
04Isolated runtime analysis
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostDerived
res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft
Saved reputation verdict: safe.
05Contacted-host cross-check - Contacted hostObserved
a83f:8110:0:0:1400:0:0:0
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
6 recorded facts from one runtime window. Every fact remains independently traceable in Analyst mode.
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.
- res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft
- a83f:8110:0:0:1400:0:0:0
- 20.99.185.48
- 151.101.22.172
- 23.198.74.242
- 23.46.216.85
- \Device\ConDrv\\Connect
- C:\Windows\System32\wbem\Performance\WmiApRpl.h
- C:\Windows\System32\wbem\Performance\WmiApRpl.ini
Detection & Forensics
Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.
Evidence integrity
Chain of custody for the facts preserved in this report.
- 0rule hits recorded
- 11 / 75engines flagged
- 29sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
11 of 75 antivirus engines flagged the file, including AhnLab-V3 and Antiy-AVL.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 02
The hash has been submitted 34 times from 29 sources.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceSaved report factsObserved at - 03
Scanned file: sleep.exe — e44d96211d673d8edb9ca9da32c8c35e50b22ef51cea5de425b0764a2fad4f60
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 04
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\file.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 05
Observed process — %SAMPLEPATH%\e44d96211d673d8edb9ca9da32c8c35e50b22ef51cea5de425b0764a2fad4f60.exe
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
File written: Connect — \Device\ConDrv\\Connect
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
Contacted host: res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft — Saved reputation verdict: safe.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceContacted-host cross-checkObserved at - 08
Contacted host: a83f:8110:0:0:1400:0:0:0 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
Category: generic-trojan
One or more independent reference databases matched this hash.
YARA rules
No matchesThe rule pass completed without a saved public match.
11 of 75 engines flagged this file
View all 75 engine results
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.
How widely this file has been seen
Moderate prevalence — neither rare nor common. No strong prior applies.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- sleep.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- No verified publisher
- Size
- 752 B
- Last analyzed
- Sep 25, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC
e44d96211d673d8edb9ca9da32c8c35e50b22ef51cea5de425b0764a2fad4f60Safety & FAQ
Complete recovery guidance and answers for the next decision.
What to do now
We couldn't fully clear this file. Treat it with caution.
- Recovery step 01
Don't run it unless you're certain it came from a source you trust.
- Recovery step 02
Check where you got it — an unexpected attachment or a random download link is a red flag.
- Recovery step 03
If its origin cannot be confirmed, delete this file and use a fresh copy from a trusted source. Get a fresh copy from the developer's official site or an official app store.
- Recovery step 04
If you're still unsure, scan it again in a day or two — detections often catch up on newer files.
Safety FAQ
Direct answers grounded in the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is sleep.exe safe, or is it malware?
What is sleep.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected sleep.exe?
I already downloaded and ran sleep.exe — what should I do?
How do I remove sleep.exe?
What kind of malware is sleep.exe?
What is the SHA-256 hash of sleep.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of sleep.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.