Does the Sacred Gold mod Reborn / ReBorn (HD?) contain a virus or other malware?

(I note this sometimes seems to be called "Sacred Reborn / ReBorn HD"; I assume this is the exactly the same thing, but the creators / some others added the "HD" tag to the title when they uploaded it to some websites, after they incorporated HD resolution support in this mod...If I'm wrong, let me know!)

There are few Sacred Gold mods & this is one I've seen recommended in a handful of places on Gog. It does *sound* absolutely awesome, with a lot of features including HD / widescreen support: in fact it's a kind of one-stop shop & if I can install it without security issues, there may not be any other mods I will need.

I have downloaded the latest version (4.5) from the GoogleDrive folder (drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iD8jF7I1pTlTLoN0WFzsYfYtCTw0ZodI) which is linked to on the original creators' site (vk.com/overlookers) & another location (www.moddb.com/games/sacred/downloads/sacred-reborn-v321 --- the actual file here is labelled "4.5" despite the "v321" in this page's web address.) I've scanned these files repeatedly with the comprehensive VirusTotal. In both cases I get the warning that "2 security vendors flagged this file as malicious" : the results from the 2 vendors are:

"Avast Win32:Malware-gen"
-&-
"AVG Win32:Malware-gen"

(However I see my file scan using the free version of Bitdefender on my computer finds no problems.)

Another possible reason to be cautious is the creators' site is in Russian, I language I don't understand. (Also while a broad generalisation, I tend to prefer avoiding e.g. ".ru" / Russian-language sourced file downloads / torrents, as statistically they appear to more likely be associated with hacking / malware & illegal content.)

I have searched the relevant forum threads here on Gog & I note at www.gog.com/forum/sacred_series/how_to_play_sacred_gold_in_widescreen_and_high_definition/?search=reborn to the question:

"Anti-virus scan of Sacred Reborn shows PUA:Win32/Presenoker.
Anyone else seeing this?"

...another user replies:

"False positive."

However no proof is shared to back up this minimal response.

So can anyone show for sure that the latest version downloadable from the creators' site here : is safe?

Thanks for your time!

False positive indeed.

"Win32:Malware-gen" means "generic", which is a heuristic, or better phrased "guesstimate" label used by some antiviruses to mark something they don't fully understand but something that has *something* they consider to be similar to malware (you can basically write a program that changes a text file the way you want it, but if you do it in a specific way, badly written AV's flag it). Pretty par for the course for Avast and AVG, which are not used by anyone serious.

The developer of Sacred Reborn actually is Russian so that's why his site has .ru.

***REDIRECTION FROM ELSEWHERE***
I'm redirecting people who look at the other thread I mistakenly posted on this question here.

The only post replying there said this: ***MORE NEWS : A SECURITY WARNING***
I have given up trying to install this mod & in caution deleted its installer,
which is a shame, as the many features sound wonderful & mods are uncommon for Sacred / Sacred Gold.

Why?

(1) Although so far I have found a post
suggesting that the "Win32:Malware-gen" scan result in VirusTotal.Com
can sometimes be a generic / false? positive in AVG antimalware scans
(https://support.avg.com/answers?id=9060N000000LnS4QAK),
I haven't yet found this for Avast.

(Personally I'm willing to risk going ahead without something similar re: Avast.)

(2) When I double-click the mod's installer (an ".exe"-format file),
the free security software one can use in Windows 10 (IIRC, "Windows Defender")
brings up a window saying it has blocked running the file for security reasons.

(3) If I select the options in this window to run the mod's installer anyway,
I get to select a folder for installation, then the installer starts expanding files.

However during or after this process the installation stops, IIRC due to some problem renaming a file.

If I click to ignore this issue & continue, a similar problem arises again.

I haven't tried to go any further than this.

***DIAGNOSIS?***
Hmmm...as a *guess* some or all these issues *may* arise because...

...(A) the mod is trying to install in the wrong folder - nothing has worked despite my trying...

.........(i) the default folder suggested by the installer
(c:\games/sacred?; a folder which doesn't exist before running the mod's installer);

.........(ii) Sacred Gold's actual installation folder
(not my default install location in the Gog Galaxy client,
but manually selected as e:\sacredgold\sacred gold - which has actually installed fine);

.........(iii) as well as the parent folder containing (ii) (e:\sacredgold\.)

-AND/OR-

...(B) the mod installer needs to be run with admin rights all the way through, i.e. while logged in with an admin account.

(This is something I'm not willing to do, considering all the potential malware flags from various sources;
but I might be fine inputting my admin login details when asked case by case throughout the whole install process,
so I can try judging whether each attempted action is likely malware-related or not.)

One or both issues might result from the installer trying to install to folders
no longer existing or used by more recent versions of Windows 10 &/or Gog Galaxy's installers
(e.g. in Gog's case perhaps the installation locations I input in Galaxy
as a default setting for all installations -&/or- specifically just for recently installing Sacred Gold
might be problematic.)

This seems unlikely, however, as the version I'm installing ("ReBorn HD installer v4.5.exe") dates from this month
(September of 2021.)

***CONCLUSION:***
If anyone can post below,
proving problems (1) to (3) above are *not* actually due to malware;

-AND/OR-

how to avoid the repeated file renaming rights issue,
that would be greatly appreciated by myself & other owners of Gog's Sacred Gold!

Yeah, someone would DEFINITELY distribute malware through a game only 20 people play at most. VERY efficient and worth the time and effort.

Leave the paranoia behind, otherwise you won't install anything on your PC ever again.

Well it's kind of moot as is;
even if I click to ignore every failed attempt by the installer to rename a file during the install,
the mod's almost certainly not going to work as those files won't be named correctly.

I went back to non-HD Sacred, because the Reborn mod's rebalancing makes the game unreasonably harder even on the lowest setting.
Enemies that took me 4 hits to beat suddenly took about 150 and lots of healing potions. Nope!

Why can't there just we a widescreen mods without that BS?

Fortunately there is, it's called PureHD and it's just that: https://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/783-purehd-mod-for-sacred/

I tried it and it doesn't work, at least not with the German (original) language.
All text areas are blank in the menu already.

Try the fixed version from this thread:

https://www.gog.com/forum/sacred_series/german_language_hd_patch_without_rebalancing_here_are_the_links