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Verdict Suspicious

Analyzed , 5 months ago

Is ep_setup.exe safe? Treat it as suspicious.

Unsigned installer for a Windows shell-modification tool, flagged by 4 of the 69 antivirus engines that checked it, mainly as riskware, that restarts Explorer and places a DLL in…

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Why Suspicious? 4 antivirus engines flag it; nothing else confirms it.

Limited evidence · One sign points to a problem; nothing else confirms it.

Don't install it until you know where it came from

If it came from a link, an attachment or a stranger, delete it.

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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ep_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

4 of 69 flagged

  • Flagged 4
  • No detection 65
  • No result 6
Fileep_setup.exe12.1 MBSHA-256 f689c068d61e…a84ae8
  • Code signing Unsigned
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 5mo ago
4 of the 69 antivirus engines that checked it flag it, including G DATA and Deep Instinct.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

3 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

GData labels it riskware for the ExplorerPatcher product, and the other three use generic labels. In the sandbox it closed Explorer, set up a background service and copied a DLL into the Windows folder. That fits a taskbar customisation tool, but the file carries no signature.

Where this verdict could be wrong1 caveat
  • Only one major antivirus engine flagged the file, and its label is a riskware classification of the product itself. The installer behaviour fits a legitimate taskbar and Start-menu customisation tool.

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 · 5 complete · 1 not needed or not applicable. See every source

Chapter 03

What it did in our test

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

Test run summary

Capture complete
  • 29sandbox rule tags
  • 12spawned processes
  • 0network contacts
  • 15filesystem & 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: 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: Listed the programs running on 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 contacting a server, but no contacted host was recorded.

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as setting an event trigger; nothing confirms it.

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as setting up auto-start; no auto-start entry was recorded.

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 5: FileSeen in the test run

      ep_setup.exe

      f689c068d61e7339efc6eba266d9674b41c5ef96dff0cc90ab0ff80c11a84ae8

      Uploaded file

  2. Processes

    What ran

    2
    1. Evidence 2 of 5: ProcessSeen in the test run

      ep_setup.exe

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

      Test run
    2. Evidence 3 of 5: ProcessSeen in the test run

      taskkill.exe

      "C:\Windows\system32\taskkill.exe" /f /im explorer.exe

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

  3. Files

    Created or changed

    2
    1. Evidence 4 of 5: Written fileSeen in the test run

      ep_setup.exe

      C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ep_setup.exe

      Test run
    2. Evidence 5 of 5: Written fileSeen in the test run

      ExplorerPatcher.IA-32.dll

      C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher\ExplorerPatcher.IA-32.dll

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

5 facts from the test run. See the full activity list.

Chapter 04

Technical details

4 of the 69 antivirus engines that checked it flag it; no publisher signature.

Sources checked

Every check behind this verdict

6 sources checked · 5 complete · 1 not needed or not applicable. Complete means the check returned a usable result; it does not mean the file is safe.

SourceStatusResultChecked
Antivirus enginesVirusTotal · 75 enginesCompleteRisk signal: 4 of 69 engines flagged it · 6 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxesCompleteRuntime behaviour was recorded Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerNot neededThe sandbox recorded no contacted hosts to checkNo date recorded
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 4

  • GData (major engine)Win64.Riskware.ExplorerPatcher.B
  • APEXMalicious
  • DeepInstinctMALICIOUS
  • Trapminemalicious.moderate.ml.score

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
May 26, 2026, 12:40 PM UTC
SHA-256
f689c068d61e7339efc6eba266d9674b41c5ef96dff0cc90ab0ff80c11a84ae8
SHA-1
6aca0ee445be70085dc626a90d12796d164dfafa
MD5
f4a34ca503c245db745e74636c307273

About this file

ep_setup.exe is a Win32 EXE file of 12.1 MB.

Type and size
Win32 EXE · 12.1 MB
Signer
UnsignedNo code signature.
First seen
May 19, 2026On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
136 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
7.95 of 8

First scanned Updated

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

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

Is ep_setup.exe safe, or is it malware?
ep_setup.exe is rated Suspicious: some signs point to a problem, but nothing confirms it is harmful. 4 of the 69 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 ep_setup.exe?
ep_setup.exe is a software installer, about 12.1 MB. It carries no version information saying what it is or who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on May 19, 2026.
How many antivirus engines detected ep_setup.exe?
4 of the 69 antivirus engines that checked it flag ep_setup.exe, including G DATA and Deep Instinct. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count.
I already downloaded and installed ep_setup.exe — what should I do?
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 ep_setup.exe?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of ep_setup.exe is f689c068d61e7339efc6eba266d9674b41c5ef96dff0cc90ab0ff80c11a84ae8, and its MD5 is f4a34ca503c245db745e74636c307273. 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 ep_setup.exe?
This report reflects the scan on May 26, 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.

Scanned by
harlan4096Staff

Related file reports

Other files people checked with the same name, and recent reports with the same rating. 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.