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Many users install third-party antivirus software products to keep their systems safe. These software products use certain criteria to blacklist suspicious files, programs, and processes in your system. One such case is with the FileRepMalware tag. Users are curious whether or not they should remove the associated file or not.
What is FileRepMalware
In this article, we will discuss what the Filerepmalware tag is and how to handle it.
What is FileRepMalware?
FileRepMalware is a tag that some popular antivirus suites assign to files with low reputation scores. The most common victim of this tag is the KMSPICO tool which is used for activating Windows without paying for it. Other than this, the antivirus will assign this tag to any software which it finds suspicious.
How does an antivirus assign the FileRepMalware tag?
The criteria for assigning the FileRepMalware tag is a low reputation score. An antivirus software assigns a low reputation score to applications that haven't been downloaded much, have not been added to the antivirus cleanset yet, and are either not signed by any publisher or the antivirus does not trust the signature.
There is a high chance that a file with a low reputation score could be a virus or malware. However, if you wish to check whether or not this is a false flag, try the following checks:
1] Use Virustotal to check whether or not the file is genuine
Virustotal is an excellent free online tool to check whether or not a file on your system is safe.
To check whether or not the file marked by the FileRepMalware tag is safe, right-click on the file in your antivirus page and select the option to open/check its location.
Now, open the Virustotal website from here and select the option Choose file.
Upload the suspicious file and let Virustotal tell you about the safety status of the file.
2] Use different antivirus software to scan your system
The best method to verify for a false flag is to double-check using an antivirus scanner of a different brand.
You can also consider the Windows Defender scan at boot-time for the best results.
There are some free portable second-opinion malware scanners available too.
If the file doesn't pass either of the above tests, it is better to discard it since it already has a low reputation score.
In case you are using a pirated version of Windows and have used the KMSPICO tool to activate it, you know the cause of the FileRepMalware tag well now.
We strongly recommend using genuine Windows OS and software only and by doing so, you will save yourself from a lot of issues including the one in the discussion.
3] Use File Unlocker and Deleter
If you are unable to delete the FileRepMalware file, then you may use a Use File Unlocker and Deleter to delete it.
Read next: What is Akamai NetSession Client? Should I remove it?
