What is squirrel.exe?
squirrel.exe is part of Update and developed by GitHub according to the squirrel.exe version information.
squirrel.exe's description is "Update"
squirrel.exe is digitally signed by WhatsApp, Inc..
squirrel.exe is usually located in the 'c:\users\%USERNAME%\appdata\local\whatsapp\app-0.2.684\' folder.
None of the anti-virus scanners at VirusTotal reports anything malicious about squirrel.exe.
If you have additional information about the file, please share it with the FreeFixer users by posting a comment at the bottom of this page.
Vendor and version information [?]
The following is the available information on squirrel.exe:
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Product name | Update |
| Company name | GitHub |
| File description | Update |
| Internal name | Update.exe |
| Original filename | Update.exe |
| Comments | Update |
| Legal copyright | Copyright © GitHub 2013-2015 |
| Product version | 1.2.5.0 |
| File version | 1.2.5.0 |
Here's a screenshot of the file properties when displayed by Windows Explorer:
| Product name | Update |
| Company name | GitHub |
| File description | Update |
| Internal name | Update.exe |
| Original filename | Update.exe |
| Comments | Update |
| Legal copyright | Copyright © GitHub 2013-2015 |
| Product version | 1.2.5.0 |
| File version | 1.2.5.0 |
Digital signatures [?]
squirrel.exe has a valid digital signature.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Signer name | WhatsApp, Inc. |
| Certificate issuer name | DigiCert SHA2 Assured ID Code Signing CA |
| Certificate serial number | 046660c4a56e0fd7e8fac0b7ba03a845 |
VirusTotal report
None of the 57 anti-virus programs at VirusTotal detected the squirrel.exe file.
Hashes [?]
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| MD5 | d0e86f504681d1fb8b0cbc645cca295f |
| SHA256 | ede3d959a2b992adfc1fb77a1f1fce5c902aae186a905ae4afb6a5c25145696b |
Error Messages
These are some of the error messages that can appear related to squirrel.exe:
squirrel.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
squirrel.exe - Application Error. The instruction at "0xXXXXXXXX" referenced memory at "0xXXXXXXXX". The memory could not be "read/written". Click on OK to terminate the program.
Update has stopped working.
End Program - squirrel.exe. This program is not responding.
squirrel.exe is not a valid Win32 application.
squirrel.exe - Application Error. The application failed to initialize properly (0xXXXXXXXX). Click OK to terminate the application.
What will you do with squirrel.exe?
To help other users, please let us know what you will do with squirrel.exe:
What did other users do?
The poll result listed below shows what users chose to do with squirrel.exe. 56% have voted for removal. Based on votes from 162 users.
NOTE: Please do not use this poll as the only source of input to determine what you will do with squirrel.exe.
Malware or legitimate?
If you feel that you need more information to determine if your should keep this file or remove it, please read this guide.
And now some shameless self promotion ;)
Hi, my name is Roger Karlsson. I've been running this website since 2006. I want to let you know about the FreeFixer program. FreeFixer is a freeware tool that analyzes your system and let you manually identify unwanted programs. Once you've identified some malware files, FreeFixer is pretty good at removing them. You can download FreeFixer here. It runs on Windows 2000/XP/2003/2008/2016/2019/Vista/7/8/8.1/10. Supports both 32- and 64-bit Windows.
If you have questions, feedback on FreeFixer or the freefixer.com website, need help analyzing FreeFixer's scan result or just want to say hello, please contact me. You can find my email address at the contact page.
Comments
Please share with the other users what you think about this file. What does this file do? Is it legitimate or something that your computer is better without? Do you know how it was installed on your system? Did you install it yourself or did it come bundled with some other software? Is it running smoothly or do you get some error message? Any information that will help to document this file is welcome. Thank you for your contributions.
I'm reading all new comments so don't hesitate to post a question about the file. If I don't have the answer perhaps another user can help you.
The file named squirrel.exe has at least three hashes that I have found thusfar, including the one listed here on freefixer.com. Do not yet know if they are different versions, otherwise related, or unrelated.
# 18 Aug 2017, 11:39
Greg Linfield writes
Acronis Active Protection has just thrown up a suspected ransomeware alert for Update.exe in the SquirrelTemp directory
for WhatsApp
# 13 Nov 2017, 0:51
throw writes
2018-03-04 21:06:42> LogHost: Rigging execution stub for casinocoin-wallet_ExecutionStub.exe to C:\Users\User1\AppData\Local\casinocoin-wallet\casinocoin-wallet.exe
2018-03-04 21:06:45> ApplyReleasesImpl: Squirrel Enabled Apps: [C:\Users\User1\AppData\Local\casinocoin-wallet\app-4.1.0\casinocoin-wallet.exe]
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: Starting fixPinnedExecutables
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: Examining Pin: Dogecoin Core (64-bit).lnk
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: Examining Pin: File Explorer.lnk
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: Examining Pin: Google Chrome.lnk
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: Fixing up tray icons
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: cleanDeadVersions: for version 4.1.0
2018-03-04 21:06:47> ApplyReleasesImpl: cleanDeadVersions: exclude folder app-4.1.0
weird to me
# 8 Mar 2018, 21:51
Vox writes
This is definitely malware (Heuristic). used to spy on your system and build profile of you!
# 12 Apr 2019, 15:23
vg256 writes
Squirrel.exe is also used in Discord for updating and it seems it's the same through looking at info like copyright etc, but I'm not sure if it's exactly the same or it's a different Squirrel.exe.
# 12 Feb 2020, 23:05
Idk writes
It's from whattsapp you can check from c://Users/Pc/AppData/Local/WhatsApp/app-(depends the version)
# 7 May 2021, 14:05
wth writes
What is the Fu***ng squirrel.exe my antivirus seying its troian xddddddddd
# 3 Jan 2022, 0:40
Daniel O'Donnell writes