Is filehippo.com a scam?

Our automated security review marked filehippo.com as suspicious. Several warning signs were detected; it may still turn out legitimate, but you should verify it through independent channels before trusting it with money or credentials.

Is filehippo.com safe to use?

filehippo.com currently scores 55/100 on our trust scale. We found enough warning signals to recommend caution. Verify the site through independent channels before entering credentials or money.

Does filehippo.com have a valid SSL certificate?

Yes. filehippo.com presents a valid TLSv1.3 certificate issued by Let's Encrypt · R13, expiring in 65 days. Note that SSL only encrypts the connection — it does not guarantee that the site itself is trustworthy.

Has filehippo.com been flagged by antivirus engines?

No. All 92 antivirus engines in our malware network report filehippo.com as clean.

Is filehippo.com on any phishing or malware blacklists?

No. filehippo.com is not currently listed on the major browser blocklist feeds that modern browsers use.

Where is filehippo.com hosted?

filehippo.com resolves to an IP operated by Fastly, Inc. in US (usage type: Content Delivery Network). Hosting location alone doesn't make a site good or bad, but unusual geography for a brand's claimed country is one of many signals we weigh.

Is filehippo.com a well-known website?

Yes. filehippo.com sits in the global top-100k on Cloudflare Radar, which means it has substantial real-world traffic. That does not automatically make it safe, but established brands almost always rank here and throwaway scam domains almost never do.

How often is the filehippo.com report updated?

This is a permanent record of the scan run on June 15, 2026. The verdict and evidence above reflect that scan and do not change on their own. If circumstances around filehippo.com have changed, MalwareTips staff can run a fresh scan, which re-runs every check from scratch and publishes an updated report.

Security Review

Is filehippo.com legit or a scam?

Our verdict:Suspicious· 55/100

SafeSuspiciousDangerous

Established software download portal with long history but flagged for adware bundling and potential unwanted-program detections in recent reports.

Top reasons

Recent 2025 report of PUADlManager:OfferCore detection on downloads, indicating potential unwanted-program bundling.Historical pattern (2014-era) of adware and aggressive offer screens bundled with software downloads.No contact email, phone, or postal address visible on the site, limiting user recourse for complaints.

filehippo.comScanned 3h ago

Post Facebook

Trust score

SUSPICIOUS

Heuristics 88·MT 58

Category tags

software download portal#Fake Supplements72% MT confidence

Technical red flags (1)

Impersonates OpenAI / ChatGPT

Positive signals (4)

Antivirus clear Not on major blacklists Encrypted connection Clean server reputation

These checks passed — but they don't clear the site. A clean antivirus result, valid SSL, and a calm server only mean it isn't hosting malware; they say nothing about whether the business is real. This verdict is based on the site's conduct and content, not a malware detection.

View density

Analysis Summary

Threat Intelligence

0/92

All engines report clean

Domain Age

—

Registration date unknown

MT Intelligence

Suspicious

Moderate likelihood · 72% confidence

SUSPICIOUS

Warning signs detected

Established software download portal with long history but flagged for adware bundling and potential unwanted-program detections in recent reports. Several risk indicators suggest caution. This site might be legitimate — but treat it as unverified until you can independently confirm.

Website Preview

LIVE RENDER

filehippo.com

1Impersonates OpenAI / ChatGPT

Automated page render — captured in a safe sandbox. What an ordinary visitor would see when loading the site. See full visual analysis →

MT Intelligence

Advanced threat intelligence

MT Security Analyst

Moderate scam likelihoodengineMT · Guardiantrust58/100

MT AgentLive web researchVisual inspection

Confidence

FileHippo operates as a legitimate software download aggregator registered in Barcelona since 2004 and maintains active business status. However, the site carries genuine risk signals. Historical complaints from 2014 document adware bundled with downloads and aggressive offer screens. A recent 2025 Reddit post reports Windows Defender detecting PUADlManager:OfferCore, suggesting the site may still distribute potentially unwanted applications alongside legitimate software. While our antivirus network shows no current malicious flags and independent trust aggregators rate it positively, the pattern of bundled offers and PUA detections reflects a business model that prioritizes monetization over user safety. The site's informational page about ChatGPT does not constitute impersonation or malware delivery. For users seeking software, the core risk is not that FileHippo itself is malicious, but that downloads from the platform may include unwanted programs.

Full dossier

Analysis complete

Page Content

FileHippo presents as a software download portal offering freeware, shareware, and demo programs for Windows. The homepage lists popular applications (VLC, Chrome, CCleaner, Avast) and displays a tech news feed. The site includes an informational page about MT Intelligence that properly attributes content to OpenAI and does not offer direct downloads or impersonate OpenAI branding. No login form, countdown timer, or push-notification spam detected.

Infrastructure

Domain hosted on IP 151.101.1.91 (Fastly CDN) with valid Let's Encrypt SSL certificate. The site loads external resources from legitimate partners (Google Tag Manager, DoubleClick ads, privacy-center SDK). No malicious redirects or homoglyph indicators detected. Our antivirus network reports 0 of 92 engines flagging the page as malicious or suspicious.

Domain History

Registered November 1, 2004 (over 21 years old) via MarkMonitor registrar. Business registration confirmed active in Spain, headquartered in Barcelona. Long domain tenure and established business infrastructure support legitimacy, though WHOIS details are not publicly available.

Web Reputation

Independent trust aggregators assign positive ratings (100/100 trust score from one source, "Very Likely Safe" from another). However, historical complaints from 2014 document adware bundling and aggressive offer screens during downloads. A recent 2025 Reddit post reports Windows Defender detecting PUADlManager:OfferCore on files downloaded from the site, suggesting ongoing distribution of potentially unwanted applications. an independent review aggregator shows only 22 reviews with divided user opinions.

Risk Factors

Recent 2025 report of PUADlManager:OfferCore detection on downloads, indicating potential unwanted-program bundling.
Historical pattern (2014-era) of adware and aggressive offer screens bundled with software downloads.
No contact email, phone, or postal address visible on the site, limiting user recourse for complaints.
Third-party software download aggregators inherently carry risk of PUPs and adware even when the site itself is not malicious.
Mixed user opinions across forums and review sites; some users have removed the site from their safe lists.

Positive Signals

Domain registered in 2004 with 21+ years of continuous operation and established business registration in Spain.
Valid SSL certificate and clean antivirus scan (0 of 92 engines flagging as malicious).
Independent trust aggregators assign positive ratings and describe the site as legitimate and reliable.
Informational MT Intelligence page properly attributes content to OpenAI with no evidence of malware delivery or login impersonation.
Ranks in global top-100k traffic, indicating substantial user base and established web presence.

AI Recommendation

FileHippo is a long-established software download site, but carries moderate risk of bundled adware and potentially unwanted programs. If you use it, download only well-known software titles, scan all downloads with antivirus before running, and avoid clicking aggressive offer screens. For maximum safety, download software directly from official vendor websites instead.

Next-gen fraud intelligence

Evidence-backedCross-checked

Web Research Findings

Our live research agent queries scam-report databases, consumer-review sites, news coverage, and general web search for filehippo.com, then cross-checks business-registration records and look-alike domain patterns. Everything below is pulled from what it actually found.

Business registration

Active · Spain

Site traces back to an actively registered business.

Clone check

Not a clone

No well-known site's layout or branding detected here.

Typosquat check

No look-alike match

The domain doesn't resemble any well-known brand's spelling.

Web mentions

4 scam reports · 4 positive

Key findings

7 headline facts from open-web research

Domain registered November 1, 2004 (over 21 years old) with MarkMonitor registrar; headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.
Scamadviser labels it "Very Likely Safe" and "very likely not a scam but legit and reliable" despite mixed reviews and hidden WHOIS owner identity.
Gridinsoft assigns 100/100 trust score citing long domain history, no major malware/phishing detections, popular traffic rank, and business infrastructure.
Historical complaints (2014-era) about adware in download manager and bundled offers; recent 2025 Reddit post flags potential PUA/OfferCore detections and advises reduced trust.
Trustpilot has only 22 reviews; forums show divided opinions with some users still viewing it as a reputable download site while others removed it from safe lists.
Page for "ChatGPT for Web Apps" is informational only (no direct download provided) and properly attributes to OpenAI; does not match known fake ChatGPT malware sites like openew.app.
Offers software downloads which inherently carry risk of PUPs/adware even if site itself is not malicious.

Scam reports (4)

Direct quotes from public scam databases, forums, and news.

Reddit r/softwareopen
"Filehippo is no longer safe. Don't trust it too much. ... Windows defender said it's PUADlManager:Win32/OfferCore"
BleepingComputer forumopen
"FileHippo has been removed from my list of safe sites."
PC Matic blog (2014)open
"FileHippo Downloads Delivered with Adware. It appears yet another once trusted source for downloads has succumbed to the dark side."
CCleaner community (2014)open
"FileHippo tests adding a download manager ... includes adware offers"

Positive reviews (4)

Quotes indicating the site is legitimate.

Gridinsoftopen
"We reviewed filehippo.com and found strong legitimacy signals ... trust score of 100/100 ... low-risk profile ... legitimate website rather than a fraudulent one."
Scamadviseropen
"Very Likely Safe ... In summary, filehippo.com is very likely not a scam but legit and reliable."
Wilders Security (2009)open
"Filehippo is definitely trustworthy. You can only download freewares and trials."
Mouthshutopen
"Filehippo.com website is my favourite website to download secure and official softwares ... MouthShut Score 97%"

Business registration

Status: active · Spain

Headquartered in Barcelona; domain registered 2004-11-01 via MarkMonitor; long-established software download portal (21+ years)

Research summary

Narrative write-up from our AI analyst, grounded on the facts above

Our research found mixed signals. Recent reports on Reddit and security forums flag potential unwanted-program detections (PUADlManager:OfferCore) on downloads, with users advising reduced trust. Historical complaints from 2014 (PC Matic, CCleaner community) document adware bundling and aggressive offer screens during the download process. Conversely, independent trust aggregators assign positive ratings, citing the site's 21-year history, active business registration in Spain, and clean antivirus scans. an independent review aggregator shows only 22 reviews with divided opinions. The consensus suggests FileHippo operates as a legitimate business but monetizes through bundled offers and potentially unwanted programs, creating genuine user risk despite the site itself not being malicious.

Antivirus Engines

Clean pass · verified

Clean across 92 engines

We cross-check every URL against our antivirus network of 92 malware and blacklist engines. None of them flagged this URL in the last scan.

0Malicious0Suspicious63Harmless92Engines

Clean

Kaspersky

Clean

Bitdefender

Clean

Microsoft

Not in pass

ESET-NOD32

Not in pass

Avira

Not in pass

Sophos

Clean

Fortinet

Clean

Google Safebrowsing

Clean

Emsisoft

Clean

No engine detections. The URL passed every antivirus and blacklist engine we queried in this scan. Stay vigilant — AV coverage is only one signal among many.

Security Scans

Blacklist Check

Not flagged on major threat lists

Checked against the major public blocklists used by browsers and security tools — no hits.

Contact Verification

We fetched the page and looked for real-world contact details. Legitimate businesses almost always publish an email on their own domain, a phone number, and a postal address. Scam shops usually don't.

What We Found

No clear contact details on the page

Emails on site's domainNone

Phone numbersNone

Postal addressNot listed

Linked social profiles0

Signal Summary

Several contact red flags

No contact email found anywhere on the page.
No phone number listed on the page.
No postal address visible on the page.
Page impersonates OpenAI / ChatGPT on a non-official domain.

Domain & Encryption

Encryption Certificate

StatusValid

ProtocolTLSv1.3

IssuerLet's Encrypt · R13

ExpiresAug 19, 2026 (65d)

Self-signedNo

Hosting & Technology

HostingFastly, Inc.

Server locationUS

Platform / CMSWordPress

PopularityTop 100k worldwide

Redirect Chain

Hops

Cross-domain

Lookalike

Punycode

1301http://filehippo.com/
2200https://filehippo.com/

Server Reputation

Abuse Intelligence

Confidence score0%

Reports on file49

ISPFastly, Inc.

Usage typeContent Delivery Network

Proceed with caution

Our automated review flagged enough risk that you should treat this site as unverified.

Treat filehippo.com as unverified
Do not enter credentials or send money until you have independently verified the business.
Verify the business through independent channels
Check the company's social profiles, registry records, and search for recent news or reviews that are not hosted on the site itself.
Never use irreversible payment methods
Crypto, gift cards, wire transfers, and cash apps offer zero buyer protection. Use a credit card or PayPal if you must pay.
Share your experience
If you have additional context, drop a comment below or post on the MalwareTips forum.
Open

Reputation Sources

How this domain rates across independent threat-intelligence and blocklist providers.

Google Safe Browsing

Not listedCheck ↗

VirusTotal

Not listedCheck ↗

AbuseIPDB

Not listedCheck ↗

Also verify:Spamhaus ↗DNSBL / SURBL ↗PhishTank ↗

Referenced Domains

Outbound domains this page links to or loads resources from. Each links to its own security scan.

sc.filehippo.net assets.filehippo.net securepubads.g.doubleclick.net googletagmanager.com sdk.privacy-center.org fundingchoicesmessages.google.com ep2.adtrafficquality.google filehippo.de filehippo.jp filehippo.pl google.com hello.softonic.com

Safety FAQ

Common questions about this site, answered directly from the scan data above — so the answers always reflect the latest verdict on this page.

Our automated security review marked filehippo.com as suspicious. Several warning signs were detected; it may still turn out legitimate, but you should verify it through independent channels before trusting it with money or credentials.
filehippo.com currently scores 55/100 on our trust scale. We found enough warning signals to recommend caution. Verify the site through independent channels before entering credentials or money.
Yes. filehippo.com presents a valid TLSv1.3 certificate issued by Let's Encrypt · R13, expiring in 65 days. Note that SSL only encrypts the connection — it does not guarantee that the site itself is trustworthy.
No. All 92 antivirus engines in our malware network report filehippo.com as clean.
No. filehippo.com is not currently listed on the major browser blocklist feeds that modern browsers use.
filehippo.com resolves to an IP operated by Fastly, Inc. in US (usage type: Content Delivery Network). Hosting location alone doesn't make a site good or bad, but unusual geography for a brand's claimed country is one of many signals we weigh.
Yes. filehippo.com sits in the global top-100k on Cloudflare Radar, which means it has substantial real-world traffic. That does not automatically make it safe, but established brands almost always rank here and throwaway scam domains almost never do.
This is a permanent record of the scan run on June 15, 2026. The verdict and evidence above reflect that scan and do not change on their own. If circumstances around filehippo.com have changed, MalwareTips staff can run a fresh scan, which re-runs every check from scratch and publishes an updated report.

Final Verdict

Trust / 100

Final Verdict·filehippo.com

SUSPICIOUS

FileHippo is a 21-year-old software download site with a legitimate business registration in Spain, but carries moderate risk due to historical adware bundling, recent PUA detections, and the inherent danger of downloading from third-party software repositories.

AV engines

MT passes

Net signals

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Community review

User reviews & comments(0)

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This report is generated automatically by combining threat intelligence, domain signals, and an AI security analyst. It is informational, not legal advice. Always use your own judgement before sharing personal information or money online.