NigelShaw
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:45 am

Virus or potentially unwanted software

Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:44 am

Hey

Out of nowhere this evening, i ran my installer got a windows defender message. My installer was then deleted. Since then, i cannot run my installer at all and when i clear the popup message, Defender removes it. The message i get is

Operation did not complete successfully because the file contains a virus or potentially unwanted software.

My files contain a collection of DevExpress reference libraries, my compiled exe from my project, the AI updater and config file, a custom created dll class project for Inventor. None of these files have changed in that 3 weeks so why the sudden virus?

I must have a solution that doesnt require me turning of defender because the installer is run on company network workstations and turning off defender is not an option for us

Liviu
Posts: 1035
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:29 am
Contact:  Website

Re: Virus or potentially unwanted software

Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:37 am

Hello,

Most likely this is a false positive. Nowadays, the antivirus heuristic is changing on a daily basis and they become more and more aggressive.

This may happen if the setup is not digitally signed. Did you sign it? Once you sign it, this problem should go away.

To overcome this issue, you need to sing the installer. Advanced Installer can sign the installer, but for this you need to purchase a code signing certificate. There is a poll on our forum thread where users debated what code signing to purchase. For other questions and answers regarding the digital signature, you can take a look on the Frequently Asked Questions about Digital Signature.

For testing purposes, you can create a test certificate. Please note that this certificate will be available only on the local machine.

You can read more in the below article:

False positive virus detection

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
Liviu
________________________________________
Liviu Sandu - Advanced Installer Team
Follow us: Twitter - Facebook - YouTube

Return to “Building Installers”