Is this malware?

[VFXGuy]

Malwarebytes just detected a threat which appears to be a version of Adwcleaner which is odd as I think malwarebytes make Adwcleaner.

Is this malware from what you can see?

 

[VFXGuy]

Scanned with Norton, I think the file must of been infected.

Apparently it is a trojan like thing that could install more malware or open backdoors etc. Is there any risk of that if its gone and neither Norton nor Malwarebytes detected any other risks?

[Middcore]

I wouldn't make any determinations based on Norton.

[Lurick]

Well where are you downloading it from? Directly or from some random download site?

Or is this just something that popped up?

 

Edit:

It looks like an older version so likely a trojan or something masking itself as adwcleaner

[Quackers101]

you can't always fully rely on anti-virus to do the job.

Protect your storage, backups, or other safety features.

If they do see it as a threat, do what they ask you to do.

[VFXGuy]

1 hour ago, Lurick said:

Well where are you downloading it from? Directly or from some random download site?

Or is this just something that popped up?

 

Edit:

It looks like an older version so likely a trojan or something masking itself as adwcleaner

Do idea. I downloaded Adwcleaner ages ago. No idea where that one came from.

[VFXGuy]

1 hour ago, Middcore said:

I wouldn't make any determinations based on Norton.

Is Norton bad? Its always worked well for me. Its caught a lot of stuff.

[Quackers101]

43 minutes ago, VFXGuy said:

Is Norton bad? Its always worked well for me. Its caught a lot of stuff.

yes and no, when you try to uninstall and so on. Is not always great.

But they have some decently good tools. Can sometimes be a bit aggressive too and some false positives, NPE (free norton tool) which is quite aggresive but can maybe have a chance on taking some action, so long you don't delete important system files.

 

Also how some anti-virus can hogg system resources or annoy the user in irrelevant things or making it seem you have more security than you do, taking higher risks. Which is why you should do backups. Also hate how they make it so you can do less in what you want to do, when "action is needed" and norton doesn't want to deal with it.

[Murasaki]

You should check your browser's download history as that shows where it originated from. File's extention is .part so it wasn't even fully downloaded to begin with though it may have contained enough data for the AV to pick it up. Alternatively it could have already been caught while it was downloading.

[Roswell]

3 hours ago, Middcore said:

I wouldn't make any determinations based on Norton.

You should probably come up with a citation showing that Norton is less reliable with false-positives than other engines.

 

Otherwise... sounds a lot like opinion based on anecdotal evidence.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Programs, Apps and Websites

[Akolyte]

Since this was detected using Hueristics - it means that the file is not in Malwarebytes Malware database, it's a detection made purely based on characteristics of the file which resemble malware. ie: it's guessing it's malware based on how it looks.

 

I would say if any reputable engines on virustotal.com such as Kaspersky or Bitdefender detect it as a threat, I would consider it a threat. 

 

Now, onto how this has impacted you: (keep in mind, it might not even be malware)

 

Since the only detection is in your downloads folder, I suspect you haven't run the file - if this is the case then you're good.

 

You are correct in saying that malware can and usually does act as merely a loader to bring other malware onto the system.  Usually this is one of the following:

1. A remote access trojan which is used to have a portal of access to your machine, so the attacker can run commands on it (and usually thousands of others) to perform actions such as bitcoin mining, DDoSing a website, etc.
    
2. Ransomware - you would know if you got infected with ransomware as all of your files would be encrypted.
    
3. A credential stealer - this is the worst one in my opinion because it would quickly launch an app, scan your system for saved passwords, send them to a server, and then delete itself.  And you may not even know that your credentials are being sold online.

 

Conclusion:

 

Even though it might not be malware, I suggest treating it as such for now and taking proactive action.  

1. Remove the file
2. Run a scan using another antivirus tool (despite people's messages on here, Norton doesn't have a terrible virus database)
3. Reset all of your passwords that you login on the machine with
4. Install an antivirus on your computer if not already installed, reset your passwords every 30,180 or 365 days, and steer clear of anything dodgy, or run a scan on anything dodgy with a trusted antimalware tool before running it.

 

Hope this helps.