Antivirus Flags StereoPhoto Maker: The False-Positive History & the Hash Check
At some point, most long-time StereoPhoto Maker users meet an antivirus warning. This page separates the documented history from the rumours, and shows how to verify — with a hash, not a hunch — that the file you have is the file the author published.
The documented history
The author himself records that an early version of the macOS bundle was flagged by Avast, and that he removed modules from the package until the detections stopped; he now states the bundle checks clean. On Windows, the pattern is the familiar one for small unsigned freeware: occasional heuristic flags on a program few of the scanner’s users run, which fade as the file ages. Neither history is a scandal — and neither is a blanket guarantee about any specific file on any specific day.
Verify the file, not the vibes
- Download from the author’s site — the download page links the official ZIPs directly.
- Compare the SHA-256 of your download with the published hash. On Windows:
certutil -hashfile <file> SHA256in a terminal. Ours, verified by downloading the files ourselves: Pro 64-bitf00a5396…c16cda, 32-bit926ac974…9bf9(full values on the download page). - If the hash matches, the file is bit-for-bit the author’s file. If it does not match, delete it and re-download — a mismatch means the file changed somewhere, whatever the reason.
What not to do
- Do not download SPM from random “free download” portals and then whitelist it — provenance first, exceptions second.
- Do not follow old forum advice to disable your antivirus entirely. At most, an exception for one hash-verified file.
- Do not trust a page (including, historically, this one) that claims a scanner verdict like “0/72 clean” without showing you the means to check yourself. A matching hash is the check.
If your scanner still objects to a verified file
That is the textbook false-positive situation: report it through your antivirus vendor’s false-positive channel (they all have one), and keep the verified ZIP; scanners update their verdicts, the author’s file does not change.