I'm completely new to programming and currently taking private lessons for my computer science entrance exam. My teacher shared a file named main.cpp with me, and after downloading it, I ended up with three files: two named 'main' (one of which is an executable) and another called 'main.o'. My antivirus flagged the executable as a trojan. I've read online that sometimes files created with codeblocks can be misidentified as threats. Is this normal when downloading a single .cpp file, and how can I be sure it's safe?
1 Answer
It's really hard to say if the executable is a trojan just based on that, especially if you're trusting your teacher. It sounds more like a result of the compiling process. The 'main' files are likely outputs from compiling your main.cpp, and you probably don't actually need them. You can compile it yourself if you want to be sure!
Yeah, it sounds like the file just compiled automatically. It’s pretty common to end up with extra files when you do that. I wouldn’t worry too much, especially since it came from your teacher.