PUA:Win32/TransmissionTorrent

Ask for help and report issues with the Windows version of Transmission
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schrodingers.ape
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:01 am

PUA:Win32/TransmissionTorrent

Post by schrodingers.ape »

With a recent Windows update, my Transmission shortcut disappeared from Favourites. Opening it from the actual shortcut, I got an error message about Network Resources not being available (which I can't reproduce now that I've finally re-installed Transmission).

When I went to re-download the client installation file, Windows Defender kept deleting it, marking it as a virus. Finally by temporarily disabling "Reputation-based protection" including "SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge" (I use Chrome) and "Potentially unwanted app blocking," I was able to get into the Protection history and see that the download file had been quarantined, labelled as a "Severe" risk. I was able to restore the file from quarantine, run the installation again, and now Transmission seems to be working.

But, what happened exactly? I'm a little apprehensive that I had to temporarily disable anti-virus to get it working, and really hoping I haven't exposed myself to something unwanted.

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mike.dld
Transmission Developer
Posts: 306
Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 10:56 pm

Re: PUA:Win32/TransmissionTorrent

Post by mike.dld »

Seems something hit Microsoft in the head on March 2 and they added not only Transmission but also QBitTorrent and Deluge to the PUA (Potentially Unwanted Applications) list. Based on their own definition,
Potentially unwanted applications (PUA) are a category of software that can cause your machine to run slowly, display unexpected ads, or at worst, install other software which might be unexpected or unwanted.
This is most certainly a false-positive since none of the apps display any ads or install any additional (unwanted) software. As for computer (or most probably network) being slow, that's a reasonable expectation unless limits are set up.

FYI uTorrent and BitTorrent are on that same list since February 6, 2017, and with a very good reason. Another entry was added for BitTorrent on March 2 as well. Needless to say, we aren't extremely excited to be in this not so good company; if you find a way to report this false-positive to Microsoft, please do.
boombam
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:44 pm

Re: PUA:Win32/TransmissionTorrent

Post by boombam »

made an account just to thank you for posting this. Had no idea why this kept happening. Thank you so much!
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