Problems with running EXE file

[FrankGill]

Has anyone come across the following problem. A published AV exe file is converted automatically to a temporary file when copied to another computer from a USB storage key?

[Ken Cox]

WILL it run direct from the usb flash drive?

ken

[Barry Beckham]

Is the anti-virus program on the receiving computer doing this in the belief that it is protecting your computer?

[FrankGill]

It did the same when we tried to run it from the USB key in fact it disappeared from the USB drive. My theory is that the filename 'first aid.exe' was seen by the anti-virus software as a threat as other AV's where uploaded from USB keys to the same computer and ran without a problem. Just wondering if others have come up against this problem?

[Lin Evans]

Hi Frank,

I would be inclined to change my antivirus software to perhaps Microsoft's Security Essentials which actually is very good but doesn't get in your way...

Best regards,

Lin

[Ken Cox]

DID YOU try disabling your anti virus???

ken

[cjdnzl]

It did the same when we tried to run it from the USB key in fact it disappeared from the USB drive. My theory is that the filename 'first aid.exe' was seen by the anti-virus software as a threat as other AV's where uploaded from USB keys to the same computer and ran without a problem. Just wondering if others have come up against this problem?

Some anti-virus software takes it on itself to delete anything it doesn't like. There have been stories on this board of losing multiple PTE .exe files because of overly aggressive software. If any AV software did that to me it would be uninstalled immediately and the purveyors of such software would hear about it. MS Essentials is fine, some others aren't.

[xahu34]

... MS Essentials is fine, some others aren't.

This may be true, but see the chart here: AV-Test, English version here.

Regards,

Xaver

[PGA]

At the risk of taking this discussion "off topic", I would suggest that it is most unwise to rely on only a single product for protection, irrespective of how good that product is. Good protection is based upon a layered defence. In my case I have a wi-fi router that includes an "always on" hardware firewall, the PC behind that router has Windows Firewall active. I use Microsoft Security Essentials as the main threat detector but supplement this with a weekly run of Iobit's Advanced System Care and a monthly run of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

Having said that, the first line of defence - and the weakest link in the chain - is the user. If the user doesn't practice "safe surfing" and isn't wary of unsolicited e-mails (whether from known contacts or not), the door will be left open to an unwanted intruder.

As many of us here on the forum have experienced, the major anti-virus players, in their attempts to identify unknown viruses (a demand of the corporate users), often generate "false positives" on perfectly harmless files. That is the price that has to be paid if the user wants "aggressive" anti-virus protection. The corporates ask for this sort of thing because they prefer to offload all the responsibility for safety to the software products instead of to their employees.

If the home user accepts the principle of "shared risk" then it can be entirely safe to use a less capable and less-agressive anti-virus program such as Microsoft Security Essentials. But do take note of that third word "Essentials": the product is not Microsoft Complete Security. The user has to accept their share of the responsibility for keeping their systems safe.

regards,

Peter