CHIRP

# Warnings from AntiVirus and AntiMalware software about CHIRP

Users of CHIRP may experience false positives from their anti-virus/malware software, their browser, etc. Unfortunately, there are not easy solutions to this problem as CHIRP is a volunteer effort without the financial and legal resources to secure agreements with these companies. Further, CHIRP releases fixes and features very often, so that users get the latest stuff as soon as possible. That means the "reputation" for a given version of CHIRP may be lower, the newer it is.

For more information about false positives and AntiVirus in general, see some if these articles:

* [What are antivirus false positives?](https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/what-are-antivirus-false-positives-how-to-fix-them/)

* [How to tell if a virus is actually a false positive](https://www.howtogeek.com/180162/how-to-tell-if-a-virus-is-actually-a-false-positive/)

* [Still paying for antivirus? Experts say you probably don't need it](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/still-paying-antivirus-software-experts-say-probably-dont-need-rcna6335)

Below are some common examples of what you may see, and how to handle them.

**Recommendation:** Tell your antivirus provider that the file is not a virus! They won't know if you don't tell them and especially if you're paying for their services, make them get it right. If you can report the file as safe, it helps the other users of CHIRP because it decreases the likelihood of them seeing a warning and improves the general "reputation" of the CHIRP project.

{{>toc}}

## Windows

Windows SmartScreen may flag the download as "not recognized" because CHIRP is a small project that releases often. If you see this warning, just click **More Info** and then **Run Anyway**.

<img src="smart_screen_more_info.png" width="400"/>&nbsp;<img src="smart_screen_run_anyway.png" width="400"/>

You can be comfortable doing this because the **Publisher** means that the digital signature on the file is intact. When you run it you may see this from UAC, which shows the **Verified Publisher**:

<img src="run_signed.png" width="300"/>

After this you should not be prompted again until you update CHIRP. If you see any publisher *other* than "CHIRP Software LLC" then you may have an illegitimate copy from another source, which should not be trusted.

### Edge browser

Microsoft's Edge browser will warn you about files it doesn't think are "commonly downloaded" and may be suspicious. Because CHIRP is a small project which releases often, this may always be a problem because it never gets downloaded enough for Microsoft to consider it "commonly downloaded." In order to get edge to let you keep your download, you need to jump through some hoops. If you see this warning, click the three dots next to the file and choose **Keep**:

<img src="edge_warning.png" width="300"/><img src="edge_keep.png" width="300"/>

Then click **Show more** and **Keep anyway**:

<img src="edge_show_more.png" width="300"/><img src="edge_trust_keep.png" width="300"/>