Softpedia Apps ... Clean?

[juverax]

Softpedia claims that the applications that are available on their website are "100% Clean".
Well ... maybe the installer is clean but the unpacked files may not be clean.
Example: https://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedi ... rner.shtml
The file you can download from Softpedia is: freemp3tocd.exe and the VirusTotal score for this file is 1/68 ..... We could agree that this is probably a false positive ....
But, if you unpack the file, (I used Universal Extractor), you get among other files "mp3tocd.exe" , that has a VirusTotal score = 8/72 .... It is true that the "malware detectors" that detect malware for this file are not the most well-known anti-virus software.
Still ..... I would recommend caution.
Note that testing EVERY file contained in an installer is time-consuming to say the least.

[webfork]

Could you post the mp3tocd.exe VT link / SHA for reference?

They have an excellent track record. I've not had any issues with downloads from there in all the time I've been on TPFC. That said, a long time ago smaragdus discovered some proper malware on Softpedia. I can't seem to find that forum. But it definitely is possible.

It is my favorite download resource. I guess my number 2 is either snapfiles or majorgeeks. I try my best to avoid the Microsoft Store for a long list of reasons.

[Midas]

It is my favorite download resource.

I'll second that...

[juverax]

Here is the VirusTotal analysis of "mp3tocd.exe" unpacked from "freemp3tocd"
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/575 ... 51a59b366c

[webfork]

Here is the VirusTotal analysis

Looks like it's a bunch of tools I've never heard of so ... probably a false-positive. I suspect some of those "companies" just copy-paste the results of others and don't actually do any analysis, which bumps up the rating. Honestly I think only maybe 20 of the 72 tools highlighted by VT do any kind of deeper checks. I wonder if the other 52 are just included to try and look comprehensive.

[juverax]

@webfork: Agreed!, several of the "malware detection tools" listed on virustotal.com seem to be "minor players" in the malware detection business.
However, some Softpedia apps are 100% clean as per virustotal ... and honestly I can't decide if it is safe to use an app that is not 100% clean on virustotal.
But, thank you for your input.

[Midas]

I can't decide if it is safe to use an app that is not 100% clean on virustotal.

My personal rule of thumb in such cases: if less than half a dozen and none from any well known major players (BitDefender, Kaspersky, Eset, etc.) means I can safely ignore any flags (0-days notwithstanding!); else, the occurrence has to be researched thoroughly before proceeding (usually, I just ignore the product and examine other further options). IMMV though.