Is read_me.txt safe?
No engine among 76 flagged this five-year-old text file, and available threat-intelligence checks found no family, rule, or known-malware match.
All 76 antivirus engines produced no malicious or suspicious detection, including 17 high-trust engines. The file is a small text document observed for more than five years, with no corroborating threat-intelligence match; however, no runtime analysis or complete host-reputation check is available.
f015c97fbf2c6daa26…6f3fe2cccddca5Recommended next actions
Before opening
Open it only when its sender or download source is one you independently trust.
If you already opened 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.
All 76 antivirus engines produced no malicious or suspicious detection, including 17 high-trust engines. The file is a small text document observed for more than five years, with no corroborating threat-intelligence match; however, no runtime analysis or complete host-reputation check is available.
The strongest evidence is complete detection silence: 0 of 76 engines flagged the sample, and 17 high-trust engines reported no detection. This is a 5,319-byte text file, so executable signing is not applicable and its absence carries no risk implication. It was first observed 1,939 days ago and has 73 unique sources across 78 submissions, giving engines substantial time and exposure to identify known harmful content. CIRCL, MalwareBazaar, and YARAify supplied no corroborating match or rule hit. No sandbox run was completed, and no complete contacted-host reputation result is available, so the conclusion rests on static scanning, file type, age, and prevalence.
What We Detected
None of the 76 antivirus engines flagged the sample as malicious or suspicious. All 17 reporting high-trust engines were silent, including Microsoft, Kaspersky, BitDefender, ESET-NOD32, and Fortinet. CIRCL, MalwareBazaar, and YARAify also returned no matching threat record or YARA rule.
Threat Behavior
The sample is a 5,319-byte text file rather than an executable, and code signing is therefore not applicable. No completed sandbox observation is available, so no claims can be made about runtime activity. A complete contacted-host reputation assessment is also unavailable.
What To Do Now
The available evidence supports ordinary handling. Keep endpoint protection enabled, and avoid following any unexpected links or commands contained in the document unless their source and purpose are independently verified.
Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
- behaviour=null, so no completed runtime observation is available to confirm what an application might do with the text content.
- contactedHosts=null, meaning no complete contacted-host reputation result is available.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- 0/76 engines reported a malicious or suspicious result.
- 17 high-trust engines reported no detection.
- No CIRCL, MalwareBazaar, or YARAify match was found.
- The sample has been observed for 1,939 days.
- The file is non-executable text, and signing is not applicable.
- No completed runtime observation is available.
- No complete contacted-host reputation result is available.
- Text files can still contain social-engineering instructions, links, or commands even when they are not executable.
Normal handling is appropriate based on the available evidence. Keep endpoint protection enabled and independently verify any links or instructions contained in the text.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete0 of 76 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
PartialRuntime data is present, but no completed sandbox environment is recorded.
Network
Not runNo contacted-host reputation check is recorded.
No timestamp recordedYARA
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 behavior was not available
The report does not treat a missing runtime observation as a clean result.
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
- 0 / 76engines flagged
- 73sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
0 of 76 antivirus engines flagged the file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 02
No completed runtime observation is available for this file.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceRuntime coverageObserved at - 03
The hash has been submitted 78 times from 73 sources.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceSaved report factsObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
The available sources did not agree on a named threat category.
MalwareBazaar, YARAify, and CIRCL hashlookup completed and returned no entries for this hash.
YARA rules
No matchesThe rule pass completed without a saved public match.
0 of 76 engines flagged this file
View all 76 engine results
PE structure
Not applicablePE structure analysis applies to Windows executable formats, not this file type.
How widely this file has been seen
Moderate prevalence — neither rare nor common. No strong prior applies.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- read_me.txt
- Format
- Text
- Code signing
- Not applicable to this file type
- Size
- 5.2 KB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 27, 2026, 7:24 AM UTC
f015c97fbf2c6daa26f6abb903a3ae0af73e8321170805b4996f3fe2cccddca5Safety & 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 it only when its sender or download source is one you independently trust.
- 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.
Is read_me.txt safe?
What is read_me.txt?
How many antivirus engines detected read_me.txt?
What is the SHA-256 hash of read_me.txt?
Is it safe to open read_me.txt?
How up to date is this analysis of read_me.txt?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.