Program cannot be installed/started: Problems with antivirus software

Some antivirus programs falsely report a threat during download, installation, or startup of PDF Annotator, or block operations without displaying a message.

These so-called false positives occur with many legitimate Windows programs and have nothing to do with the software actually being harmful.

Why does this happen?

Antivirus manufacturers are increasingly using heuristic and AI-based detection methods. These methods check not only the file content, but also its behavior, structure, compression, and signatures. Programs that are regularly updated, contain many features, or use components for PDF processing can be mistakenly classified as suspicious.

Such false positives usually disappear after a short time due to automatic definition updates from the antivirus vendors.

Important: Always download the installer directly from our website to ensure that it contains the original, unmodified files.

How can I check or fix the problem myself?

Each antivirus product looks a little different, but most programs follow similar steps. The following measures help in most cases:

1. Disable protection temporarily

For testing purposes, you can temporarily disable your antivirus protection:

• Open your antivirus software.
• Select Pause Real-Time Protection / Monitoring / Shield or similar.
• Download or start PDF Annotator again.

Reactivate protection immediately afterwards.

2. Check quarantine and restore files

If a file has been blocked or deleted:

• Open your antivirus software.
• Select Quarantine / Threat History / Security History or similar.
• Find PDFAnnotator.exe or PDFAnnotatorSetup.exe.
• Select Restore, Allow, Remove from Quarantine or similar.

3. Review antivirus logs

If something isn't working, your antivirus product's log will help:

• In the settings or main menu, you'll usually find a section called Reports, Logs, or History.
• Check there to see which file was blocked and what action the antivirus took.

4. Add an exception for PDF Annotator

To prevent the software from being incorrectly blocked in the future, you can create an exception:

• Open your antivirus software.
• Select Exceptions, Exclusions, Allowed Items or similar.
• Add the PDF Annotator installation folder or the program file.
  (Default path: C:\Program Files\PDF Annotator\PDFAnnotator.exe)

5. Check for definition updates

Many false positives disappear after an update:

• Open your antivirus software.
• Check for updates or new signatures.
• Retest the file after the update.

What to do if the problem persists?

Feel free to contact our Support team. Please send us:

• the exact name of your antivirus product
• a screenshot of the message
• if applicable, the relevant excerpt from the antivirus logs

Additionally, you can also contact your antivirus software manufacturer directly – especially with questions about operation, file recovery, or setting up exceptions.

We also report detected false positives directly to the antivirus manufacturers so that they can be corrected as quickly as possible.

Typical Errors

These error messages displayed by Windows typically indicate problems with antivirus programs:

• "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

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