lagen
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:36 pm

Defender Flagging Signed Setup.exe as a Virus - Need Assistance

Hello,

I've encountered an issue with installation files created using Advanced Installer. I use the tool to generate a setup.exe file that downloads the installation files from my website. The files are digitally signed, so there shouldn’t be any trust issues. However, two companies have reported that Windows Defender is flagging the setup.exe as a virus.

I’m unsure why this is happening, especially since the files are signed. Could this be a false positive, or is there something specific in the setup.exe that could be triggering this warning? Any guidance or suggestions on how to resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best regards,
Patrik
Liviu
Posts: 1365
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:29 am
Contact: Website

Re: Defender Flagging Signed Setup.exe as a Virus - Need Assistance

Hello Patrick,

Can you please take a look at the Re: Error Signing an exe-file forum thread.

Regrettably, there has been an increase in false positive detections by Windows Defender.

After building the final setup on your machine, it is advisable to upload your setup to virustotal.com, an online malware scanning service. If the setup is detected by major antivirus vendors (Microsoft, Bitdefender, McAfee, Avast, etc) contact the respective antivirus company to report the false positive.

Before releasing a new version of Advanced Installer we always follow these steps; if required we contact specific antivirus vendors and report issues to try to help them improve their detection algorithms in the future. However, sometimes we need to report a false positive detection, as their detection algorithms evolve constantly.

You can submit your installation package through the Microsoft False Positive Report portal: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission

Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Liviu
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Liviu Sandu - Advanced Installer Team
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