I downloaded Adobe Animate 2022 despite my sister warning me not to, and now I'm feeling pretty uneasy about it. I opened the ISO file and saw a terminal window flash for a second, which freaked me out. A friend told me it was safe, so I didn't think much of it. Afterward, I scanned the file and my computer with Malwarebytes and Windows Defender multiple times without finding any issues. However, I did notice that the ISO came from a suspicious Google Drive link. I also had my accounts logged in on my laptop for a few days while I had the software. Here are my questions: 1. Did opening the ISO mean I ran it? 2. Am I safe now after all the scans? 3. What should I do next?
2 Answers
You're probably okay. When you open an ISO, it usually just mounts it as a virtual drive, which is fairly safe. The terminal window you saw was likely just Windows doing that. Since you've run several antivirus scans and nothing popped up, it sounds like you're in the clear. But it's always good to be cautious and check in with someone who knows security better for additional measures.
Most likely, the warning you saw was a false alarm. Windows Defender is pretty robust these days, and since scans returned clean results, you're likely fine. Just a heads up, opening an ISO generally just mounts it rather than executing anything harmful. If you're still feeling uneasy, make sure to keep your software updated and consider using additional malware protection just to be safe.
Could you explain more about how mounting an ISO works?