Best Practices to Avoid Being Labelled a Virus?

[PeerMedia 0]

Hello,

I've read the sticky thread on virus detection and I do understand why some AV makers are flagging AutoIT compiled scripts as a virus. The software I'm creating is nothing more than an IEEmbedded app which is an instructional tutorial. It involves a GUI, using an embedded IE window and some automation between the GUI and IE and doing updates via INetGet(). I've tried a few things like making a prompt to ask the user if they wish to start the tutorial and this alone got me off quite a few AV detection programs (according to VirusTotal). So it seems using IE or INetGet before asking the user consent sets off warnings. I don't mind asking for user consent on the installation, but on the actual app itself (and every time its run) is a little overkill in my opinion.

I'm looking for a legitimate set of recommendations or best practices to avoid getting labelled a virus. Any other suggestions people can make for legitimate apps without making the app itself constantly ask permission from the user?

Thank you.

[Blue_Drache 258]

Asking permission from the user when a program runs is a sad symptom of stupid users, and unfortunately, that 'feature' is here to stay. The only recourse is to disable UAC (Which I have on my machine ... with a baseball bat ... it wasn't pretty), but that's on a per-user basis. Average Computer Joe isn't going to know how to do it, or for that matter even know it exists....

As far as best practices, there really isn't much you *can* do. I've had a "Hello World" program get nailed because the AV was looking at the UPX packer the script was compiled with.

[AdmiralAlkex 117]

@PeerMedia

Don't use UPX.

@Blue_Drache

GO TO 10

[trancexx 915]

Hello,

I've read the sticky thread on virus detection and I do understand why some AV makers are flagging AutoIT compiled scripts as a virus.

You do? Why?

edit:

Really, when you answer that question the answer to all other questions will be nothing but obvious.

Edited May 27, 2011 by trancexx

[water 1,847]

Couldn't resist

The answer to all questions is 42.

[PeerMedia 0]

Wow, thats really sad that viruses have made it so difficult for legitimate users to create software apps without getting labelled as malware too. I guess we kinda just have to live with being labelled a virus