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I'm trying to download Lychee Slicer from Mango3D.io. I followed their suggestion by telling windows defender to allow it to download. Then I scanned it with Norton. Norton said both the website and app are safe. Should I believe Norton over Windows Defender?

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    For the love of god get rid of Norton... Aug 18, 2020 at 8:27
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    I would be extra careful with sites telling their users to "please whitelist the installer in your antivirus software". Especially when the software isn't something that could look like a virus, i.e. encryption software, remote desktop stuff, etc. Why would a 3d slicer software (what does it do) that triggers antivirus?
    – simon
    Aug 18, 2020 at 11:20
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    @simon, they didn't ask me to whitelist anything they just said to skip the warning from windows defender smart screen. Honestly that may be the same thing. I don't know why perhaps the process by which a new piece of software becomes recognized by microsoft is a long one. Or it's spyware.
    – Matt
    Aug 18, 2020 at 15:37
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    Did you install it? What did the warning actually say, that it found some kind of virus or was it simply a warning about the executable not being signed or signed but with an unknown certificate?
    – simon
    Aug 18, 2020 at 15:42
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    @user1258361 From what I've seen Norton doesn't suck any more. Norton 360 seems to have generally positive reviews. Aug 19, 2020 at 14:44

3 Answers 3

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I would scan the offending binary (if not too big) on Virus total. This will automatically provide a report from over 60 different anti virus products and if they detect it.

Then you can decide who to trust :)

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    This site did clear both the source website and the downloaded installer. Appreciate it!
    – Matt
    Aug 18, 2020 at 15:46
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Assuming the SmartScreen warning message was along the lines of

Windows SmartScreen prevented an unknown application from running. Running this application might put your PC at risk.

... all that means is that SmartScreen doesn't recognize the download as one that is known to be safe.

It does not mean that SmartScreen has determined the download to be malicious. You would get a more strongly worded message if that were the case.

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Which AV will you trust is completely up to you. If you think that the app is OK you can whitelist it in windows Defender. (Myself I don't prefer Windows Defender, I have disabled it).

Another thing, you can see what kinds of threats can Windows Defender block. Open Powershell as Administrator and run Get-MpThreatCatalog | Format-List * to see all threats. The list is huge, Microsoft has improved Defender (Also more annoying) much.

Virus Total is a great online platform to scan binaries for viruses (already mentioned in other answer), still if the file is to big, it is hard to upload, so I prefer IRMA as an offline alternative.

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  • How do I disable Windows Defender on 10? I am happy as a clam with Norton these days.
    – JustJohn
    Aug 21, 2020 at 17:10
  • @JustJohn Open Windows Security > Virus and threat protection and click Manage settings and turn off Real-Time Protection and other things. Basically if you use Norton, Windows Defender should let Norton manage things.
    – Wasif
    Aug 21, 2020 at 17:13
  • thanks. I turned off everything I could find there. cheers.
    – JustJohn
    Aug 22, 2020 at 19:40

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