Alpha Apps (Fried Cookie Ltd.) – 14% Detection Rate – InstallCore

Hi there! Just wanted to give you the heads up on a file called Skype_Setup.exe that’s digitally signed by Alpha Apps (Fried Cookie Ltd.).

Here how Alpha Apps (Fried Cookie Ltd.) appears in the UAC dialog when running Skype_Setup.exe as admin:

Alpha Apps Fried Cookie LTD

The Alpha Apps (Fried Cookie Ltd.) certificate shows that the publisher is located in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Alpha Apps certificate

What caught my attention was that the download was called Skype_Setup.exe. This might look like an official Skype download, but it is not. If it was an official download, it would be digitally signed by Skype Software Sarl. Here’s how the authentic Skype looks like when you double click on it. Notice that the “Verified publisher” says “Skype Software Sarl”.
Skype Software Sarl publisher

The problem with the Alpha Apps (Fried Cookie Ltd.) file is that it is detected by some of the antimalware scanners. Here are some of the detection names: Trojan.InstallCore.39, a variant of Win32/InstallCore.SX, Unwanted-Program ( 004b2d871 ) and InstallCore (fs).

alpha apps virustotal

Did you also find a Alpha Apps (Fried Cookie Ltd.) file?

Thanks for reading.