No, your Windows device probably does not have a virus

Is your Windows PC reporting that a new threat has been detected? There are many messages from people all over the world saying the same thing, but this time there is nothing to worry about.

Microsoft has confirmed that the Microsoft Defender virus alert is a false positive, meaning there is no risk of harm to your computer. You can safely ignore the Behavior:Win32/Hive.ZY warning and download the official fix released for it.

Given the way he carries himself, it’s easy to see why this threat has caused so much concern. It is marked as “Severe” in the Windows Security app, prompting you to take urgent action to remove it. But when you try to do so, the same prompt appears again almost immediately and there is no way to solve it permanently.

The issue was first reported by a Reddit user on September 4 before many commenters confirmed that it was widespread and spread around the world. It was a similar story on the Microsoft forums, although a verified “independent advisor” (known as “DaveM121”) was the first to suggest that this could be a false positive.

He believes it has to do with Chromium-based web browsers (like Chrome or Edge) and Electron-based apps (including WhatsApp, Discord, and Spotify), many of which people use every day. However, the exact cause of the problem remains unknown.

Microsoft soon acknowledged that this was a bug, and the official patch is now available to download on all Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices. This is not required, but may help you figure out which threats are genuine in the future.

To install it, just go to Settings and check for updates as usual and look for version 1.373.1537.0. Any pending updates should probably be completed first.

If you don’t see it yet, the patch can be downloaded and installed manually from the following links:

However, it’s important not to mark it as safe or let Microsoft Defender work with it – that can still cause problems. However, it’s good to know that this particular threat is nothing to worry about.

But Windows is no stranger to real viruses and malware, so it’s important not to ignore similar warnings in the future. Microsoft Defender is an effective free antivirus tool, but there are plenty of great antivirus apps out there that offer more features.

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