Suspicious
ExplorerPatcher installer flagged as PUA riskware due to patching behaviour and low-tier detections.
f689c068d61e7339ef…0c11a84ae8The 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.
Only a single tier-1 engine (GData) reports riskware with an explicit PUA flag; the remaining detections are low-trust. Behavioural artefacts match the documented operation of ExplorerPatcher rather than malware. No malicious children, sandbox verdicts, or contacted hosts exist. The combination of unsigned status, offensive MITRE techniques, and installer hint places the sample in the PUA category rather than clean or malicious.
Each signal cites a concrete token from the evidence the arbiter saw — engine name, MITRE technique, signer string, or an exact count.
GData tier1 detection Win64.Riskware.ExplorerPatcher.B with adwarePua flag
popularThreatLabel pua.explorerpatcher and 6 offensiveTechniques (T1055, T1547.001)
common_new prevalence (136 submitters) with hasMaliciousChild=false
unsigned with triggeredHeuristics MalwareTips.Synth.ProcessInjection
- Only 1 tier-1 malicious detection with explicit PUA label
- Common_new prevalence across 136 submitters
- No malicious sandbox or child verdicts
- Unsigned binary
- Process injection into explorer.exe
- Low-trust engine detections
Block or allow based on policy; the file is a known PUA rather than malware.
What this file does
What it attempted when executed in an isolated sandbox
High concern: Hides inside another running program to evade antivirus.
High concern: Talks to a remote server to take commands or send out your data.
High concern: Hooks into Windows events so it re-launches itself.
High concern: Sets itself to run automatically every time you start your PC.
High concern: Tries to disable or bypass your security software.
Moderate concern: Obfuscates or packs its code to avoid detection.
Moderate concern: Lists running programs — often to find security tools.
Translated from the file's technical behaviour during analysis. It never ran on your device.
What to do now
We couldn't fully clear this file. Treat it with caution.
Don't run it unless you're certain it came from a source you trust.
Check where you got it — an email attachment or a random download link is a red flag.
If you're unsure, delete it. You can always re-download a clean copy from the official source.
If you're still unsure, scan it again in a day or two — detections often catch up on newer files.
explorerpatcher corroborated by 2 sources
- VT (75 engines)explorerpatcher
- MT AI Engineexplorerpatcher
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.
- C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ep_setup.exe
- C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ExplorerPatcher.IA-32.dll
- C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ExplorerPatcher.amd64.dll
- C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ep_gui.dll
- C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ep_dwm_svc.exe
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 097dfaea778000b9e102…8737ccNever scannednever seen before
- d75b29ad314d6af52c2f…0996c0Never scannednever seen before
- ae8e7f0c0d935a698def…857a6bNever scannednever seen before
- b5ff17b52dbce8fcbbde…dd77a8Never scannednever seen before
- 6320d4893083d4112b55…d78a32Never scannednever seen before
- 6796c85256c35d8ebf1f…ad5fa8Never scannednever seen before
- ae26d6ef7c8f6b533585…61ba45Never scannednever seen before
- fe677e93e6ebcb4b0268…ec197cNever scannednever seen before
- 97a47364127595870353…cab70fNever scannednever seen before
- b8c8fcb5a8d288eaa20f…d89351Never scannednever seen before
YARA & heuristic rule matches
A researcher-curated or high-severity heuristic rule matched this sample. These rules target specific malware families and are near-definitive.
MITRE T1055 (Process Injection) observed — CreateRemoteThread / APC / reflective-DLL injection. The payload is being smuggled into a legitimate process to bypass AV hooks.
Evidence"C:\Windows\system32\taskkill.exe" /f /im explorer.exe
4 detections across 75 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
Lots of people are uploading this but it's recent — typical of newly-released legitimate software. Low prior for malware.
Forensic fingerprint
- File name
- ep_setup.exe
- Size
- 11.57 MB
- MIME type
- (unknown)
- Detected type
- Win32 EXE
- SHA-256
- f689c068d61e7339efc6eba266d9674b41c5ef96dff0cc90ab0ff80c11a84ae8
- MD5
- f4a34ca503c245db745e74636c307273
- SHA-1
- 6aca0ee445be70085dc626a90d12796d164dfafa
- PE imphash
- 60043cdc8ec75b3db9d74a95586b1bb7
- First seen (VT)
- 5/19/2026, 3:17:59 AM
- Last analysis (VT)
- 5/26/2026, 8:09:06 AM
- First scan (MalwareTips)
- 5/26/2026, 8:40:14 AM
- Last scan (MalwareTips)
- 5/26/2026, 8:40:14 AM
Safety FAQ
Common questions about ep_setup.exe, answered from the scan data above.
- ep_setup.exe is suspicious — treat it as unsafe until you're sure. 4 of 75 antivirus engines flag it (family: explorerpatcher), which isn't a strong consensus but is enough to be cautious. Don't run it unless you fully trust where it came from, and prefer downloading the software fresh from its official site.
- ep_setup.exe is a Windows executable program, about 11.6 MB. We identify a file by its cryptographic hash rather than its name, because the same filename can be reused by completely different files — the hash below is the reliable fingerprint.
- 4 of 75 antivirus engines flagged ep_setup.exe, 4 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.
- Act quickly. 1) Disconnect the device from the internet to stop the malware communicating or spreading. 2) Run a full scan with reputable anti-malware software (such as Malwarebytes) and quarantine everything it finds. 3) Change your important passwords from a DIFFERENT, clean device — many threats log keystrokes or steal saved credentials. 4) If you bank or shop on this device, watch closely for fraud and alert your bank. 5) For a confirmed infection, the most reliable fix is to back up your personal files and reinstall the operating system for a clean start.
- To remove ep_setup.exe: 1) restart into Safe Mode (Safe Mode with Networking if you need to download a tool) so the malware doesn't auto-start. 2) Run a full scan with reputable anti-malware software and let it quarantine or delete the detections. 3) Delete the original ep_setup.exe file and empty the Recycle Bin/Trash. 4) Check your browser extensions, startup items, and scheduled tasks for anything unfamiliar. 5) Reboot and scan again to confirm it's gone. If detections keep coming back, a clean operating-system reinstall is the most dependable cure.
- ep_setup.exe is classified as adware or a potentially unwanted program (PUA) — not always destructive, but it bundles ads, trackers, or unwanted changes you didn't ask for. Engines attribute it to the explorerpatcher family. Knowing the family matters because it tells you the likely impact — data theft, remote control, file encryption, or unwanted ads — and guides the cleanup.
- The SHA-256 hash of ep_setup.exe is f689c068d61e7339efc6eba266d9674b41c5ef96dff0cc90ab0ff80c11a84ae8, and its MD5 is f4a34ca503c245db745e74636c307273. 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.
- This report reflects the scan run on May 26, 2026. Because a file's hash never changes, the identity of ep_setup.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)
Tell the community what you saw. Tag the sample — Trojan, Adware, False Positive — and share what the file did on your system. Your report helps confirm or dispute the AV verdict.