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Can this be safely ignored?

VirusTotal shows that Microsoft is the only security vendor that flagged this file as malicious. I did not modify my Surfshark installation in any way, except for an update last week.

Screenshot of Microsoft Defender blocking Surfshark

Translation of the screenshot:

Misleading:Win32/Lodi

Warning level: Low
Status: Active
Date: 03/22/2022 00:32
Category: Potentially unwanted software
Details: This program displays misleading product messages.

Affected items:
file:C:\Program Files (x86)\Surfshark\Surfshark.exe
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  • 2
    "displays misleading product messages" seems to be more about Microsoft disagreeing with the ad/claim instead of the file being malware.
    – Martheen
    Commented Mar 22, 2022 at 0:41

2 Answers 2

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Surfshark characterizes the flag as a false alarm and recommends updating Defender or whitelisting surfshark to remove the warning. Given that the reasoning for the flag was "This program displays misleading product messages", there appears to be no underlying technical security issue and you should be safe.

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According to this guy from this question from the Microsoft Forum:

[...] Surfshark has an "Antivirus Program" that they are incorporating into Surfshark. In other words Defender is seeing Surfshark as if it's looking in a mirror. Since we should never run two Antivirus Programs simultaneously you have to make a choice; a. Keep the VPN combo w/ Antivirus Protection and disable Defender! b. Drop your Surfshark VPN service you paid for and just use Defender! c. Simply add Surfshark as an Exception to Defender

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  • This is wrong. Forums are not a good source of information, try to corroborate with more official sources in the future.
    – belkarx
    Commented Apr 9, 2022 at 23:02
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    The Part that surfshark has an av is true, its even in the same program as the vpn. I didnt find any proof for the part that Windows defender got hacked, so this might be wrong.
    – UndercoverDog
    Commented Apr 9, 2022 at 23:57

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