Many people who use Windows have seen a notification from their antivirus program saying it found a file infected with IDP.Generic, and are wondering what exactly this is. Is it a virus?
The IDP.Generic is not related to one specific file. It is a common threat name and could be found anywhere, such as when using a python file or somewhere in your game folders.
Most people experiencing this use Avast antivirus tools, although it has been found with other antivirus programs as well.
Of course if your antivirus tells you it has detected a potential virus, you are going to want to know what it is, how much of a threat it is, and whether you can safely play your games or use other programs.
Your game will likely not even start if your antivirus finds this type of threat in the game files.
Many Windows users want know whether an IDP.Generic warning could be a false positive, or if it is actually malware on their system.
IDP.Generic Meaning
If you see this warning, it means the identity protection part of your antivirus program has flagged up a generalized file.
IDP is an abbreviation of identity protection. Whenever a file acts like malware, this flag will be triggered by your antivirus and you will be alerted.
Examples of IDP viruses include Trojans, banking malware, spyware, and password-stealing viruses.
A Trojan is designed to infiltrate someone’s computer and stay silent, so you won’t see any symptoms unless your antivirus picks it up.
These viruses can come via software cracks, infected email attachments, social engineering, or malicious online advertising, and can cause identity theft, stolen passwords and stolen bank details.
In many instances though, when you see IDP.Trojan pop up, it is simply a false positive.
Should I Ignore IDP.Generic Warning?
It isn’t a good idea to ignore antivirus program warnings, despite the fact some of them are false positives.
You might like to try another antivirus program to see whether it flags up the same file.
Another idea is to use VirusTotal, a website where you an upload the suspicious files.
VirusTotal will then inform you whether the file is malicious or safe.
Once on the VirusTotal website, click on “Choose File“, then choose the file your antivirus program alerted you to.
If no malicious component is found, then the file is safe and may be added to your antivirus whitelist.
You might also want to update your antivirus program.
If VirusTotal does consider your file a threat, then perform a full system scan with your antivirus.
Why IDP.Generic Might Give a False Positive?
One very common reason for a false positive here is your antivirus being outdated. You should update the program and then run it again.
If you still keep getting false positives, you might like to switch to another antivirus program.
What to Do if It’s a False Positive?
First you must remove the file from the virus vault so it is not blocked by your antivirus:
- Open Avast and go to “Protection“.
- Go to “Avast Virus Chest” and right-click the false positive file.
- Click on “Restore” and add it to exclusions.
Above are the steps you should take if you are using Avast antivirus.
Other programs will differ slightly, but they shouldn’t be too different because they all have virus vaults where they ‘lock’ suspicious files.
You might also like to upload the false positive file on the Avast website to prevent more false positives in the future.
Also read: What is FileRepMalware and is it Safe?