@Lucasgabd Even if an .exe file appears clean from virustotal.com, that offers only signature-based detection which is not that reliable for new files and uncommon files. Safest would be to review code/backward engineer for malware, but that's out of the question for most people. Followed by running the software in a virtual machine, followed by having good antivirus software which can offer sandboxing or heuristic detection.
thanks a lot for the insights!
what do you recommend as a good antivirus that offers sandboxing?