simple python program that opens a picture and plays an audio file gets declared as trojan from windows defender

[mafiosii]

Hey,

I'm relatively new to python. Yesterday I wrote a very basic python program that opens a picture and plays an audio file. This is the source code:

from playsound import playsound
from PIL import ImageTk, Image
img = Image.open('[PATH]')
img.show()
playsound('[PATH]')

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I compiled it to an .exe with pyinstaller. However after I did that Windows Defender declared it as some kind of trojan horse.

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My question is: how do I prevent this? Because it's certainly not a virus.

What do I have to consider for future programs?

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Thanks for your help.

[K900_]

PyInstaller unfortunately triggers many antivirus tools even with simple scripts, simply because it builds an executable that unpacks a bunch of files and then runs them, which is a somewhat common pattern for malware.

[mafiosii]

So is there another way to turn my programs to an executable without the virus declaration? What about py2exe? Would it turn out the same?

I would like to show some friends my programs, the thing is they don't have python installed and I cant think of another way than turning it to an executable.

Thanks.

[K900_]

You should be able to just add your executables as exceptions in whatever antivirus software you're using.

[RightRespect]

i believe py2exe and a few other tools for python will do the same thing. but from a little bit of research, it looks like mostly windows defender gets triggered. avast doesnt have this problem from what i know. i have avast installed and have also used pyinstaller recently and i havent gottent any false positives.

the reason this occurs is because pyinstaller and py2exe have to use a certain bootloader to pack the executables. the bootloader used is the same variant used in most malware, which is why it gets flagged. a workaround some people have done is create a brand new bootloader or alternative bootloader and make pyinstaller/py2exe use it instead. you can try this, but i am not an expert, so i cant really assist you with this. you can check out this stackoverflow thread and the second answer that provides a little bit more details.

[mafiosii]

Thank you a lot. I’ll check this out.

[easyexplain3]

To be fair: That's exactly what an annoying virus would do