C# Program False Positive Virus Detection

Question

So I’ve been working on a c# program that downloads, unzips, deletes and checks some files that are used to launch some of my other applications. It also has a login system in place that creates a socket session to my login server. Every single time I make any changes to it, Microsoft Defender AV flags it as a Wacatac!ml Trojan or some other variant along with maybe 2 other ones on virustotal(along with the desktop variant of Defender). What are some things I can do to try and stop my code from being flagged as a Trojan?

Answer 1

Best option is to configure defender to exclude your app.

Configure and validate exclusions for Microsoft Defender Antivirus scans

Otherwise you would need to use a certificate such as from VeriSign or similar provider of certificates.

Answer 2

The Microsoft Defender Security Research Team published a blog where they made two suggestions to minimize false positives:

1. Publish the application to the Microsoft Store. This is the best way for vendors and developers to ensure that their programs will not be misclassified. For customers, the applications in the Microsoft Store are trusted and verified by Microsoft.
2. Add a digital signature to the software. Digital signature is an important method to ensure software integrity. By verifying the identity of the software publisher, the signature can ensure that customers know who provided the software they are installing or running. Digital signatures also assure customers that the software they received is in the same state as when the publisher signed the software, and that the software has not been tampered with.

Partnering with the industry to minimize false positives

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Answer 3

Code should be seen as safe before to be signed (should be a pre-requisite) to avoid signing code with malware embeded.

Answer 4

Please have a look at:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission
And you may click as Software developer and follow steps there.