I just downloaded Riven and attempted to install it. Everything appeared to be going fine until my virus protection software registered the file Riven_Launcher.exe as a virus. The rest of the game installed, but when I tried to launch it, it would because the launcher.exe is placed in quarantine (due to the suspected virus).

Has anyone else had this problem? I suspect it may be a false positive, but I don't know. I am definitely willing to remove the file from quarantine if it's a false positive, but I also don't want to risk my computer. Is there a way to launch without riven_launcher.exe?

Here are details:

Download Process: Directly (not with Galaxy)
Virus Protection: Symantec
Virus: Trojan.Gen.6
Running: Windows 7

Note: I did download and play realMyst in this exact fashion and did not have a problem with Symantec detecting a virus.

Thank you for any help!

That's been mentioned already. Just read the most recent forum threads, even if only the threads for the past two or three weeks. But in general, the answer has been that GOG likely isn't distributing viruses.

However, this is just the forum, people gossip and say whatever, so it's not reliable information. The support link for the game itself is in your game library, in the menu for the game itself.

https://www.gog.com/support/riven_the_sequel_to_myst

From there, if none of that info resolves your question, you might also consider contacting Support, and asking them directly.

It's a trojan for me too, does anyone know?

Same here, submitted a request to GOG support.

Why didn't it get flagged 2 months ago when I had the game installed before then
Now I've got shield icons on any game with admin permissions and popups anytime I try to launch them

Thanks, I did check but none of these matched this particular case (ie, Riven launcher quarantined after install), and since virus threats are a serious matter, I'd better be safe than sorry and therefore asked GOG.com support about this specific game.

I got the reply that, indeed, this is a common problem of false positive. It's a generic reply, but there is a good piece of advice about checking the suspicious file on www.virustotal.com.

Reposting the answer I got from Dr Cat of GOG.com below:

Hello,

This is a known problem with various security software.

Our games are thoroughly checked for viruses before launch, therefore we are confident that any warning your software displays is just a “false positive”.

This happens when an anti-virus/anti-malware heuristic scanner (or “smart scanner”) checks a file and finds parts of code that resemble a virus. Please disregard this warning, or use www.virustotal.com to have the file scanned by 30+ known, well-established anti-virus scanners. If the results are inconsistent (as in, different scanners show different results), this practically proves that it's a false positive.

If you are using Galaxy, then please add Galaxy folders:
C:\Program Files (x86)\GalaxyClient
C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy

to your security software exceptions list. If the game is installed outside of Galaxy folder, then please add game's installation folder to security software exceptions list as well.

If you are not using Galaxy, then please also add the game's installation folder to your security software exceptions list.

After adding the game's folder to exceptions list, please reinstall it.

Sigh...people waste so much time and energy on *false positives*--it's long been one of my pet peeves that so-called AV/Malware "comparisons" or reviews *never* check for a comparison between programs as to which program will usually generate the most false positives...! You'll never see it, though--because some of the major names are infamous for generating false positives, no question about it.

If a person is visiting some kind of pay-for-pRon site--yes, be prepared for an onslaught of real viruses and malware--such things often infest these sites. I stay well away from red-light sites, accordingly...;) But if you go and get dinged by your resident AV program--take heed, as you likely have something real that may or may not be a danger to you--depending on which OS you are running, whether or not it is updated, etc.

But if you are downloading a file from a well-known, high-profile game developer's site (as opposed to getting it from a third-party site not owned and maintained by the developer), or you are using a high-profile game distributor, like Steam and/or GOG, for instance, you just don't have to worry about that. Odds approach unity that you are looking at a false positive in that situation! Don't waste your time thinking you have "a Trojan," etc! Galaxy is every bit as policed and sterile as GOG's own manual-download game files, and with Galaxy only the actual game developers themselves supply the game code and update their games through their own exclusive channels--exactly like game devs do on Steam.

Over the last several years after trying them all at one time or another, my absolute fav is Windows10's Defender. Do not let the fact that it's free fool you--Microsoft is taking responsibility for keeping its OS as clean as it is possible for the company to do. Best of all, and what really tipped the scales for me, is out of them all Win10 Defender (now called "Windows Security") generated far fewer false positives than anything I've ever used. Far, fewer. At the same time, the few and far in-between nasties I've managed to pick up somewhere on the 'net were immediately detected and routed by Windows Security.