CamStudio Security Status

What Happened — The Historical Incident

Between approximately 2013 and 2019, in order to help the project generate funds to pay developers to improve CamStudio, it was bundled with third-party installation wrapper that gave users the ability to select another free piece of software before installing CamStudo itself.

While there was no malicious intent, the end result of doing this ended up with CamStudio being categorized as "adware" and a partial negative reaction from users.

With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I'd never done this and the reputational damage it has caused has been substantial. I am not not going to pretend it didn't happen. All I can say is, I won't be doing that again.

There is a SourceForge.org listing still carrying a warning stating that downloads from camstudio.org are known to contain malware. That warning refers to the historical incident and is no longer accurate for the current release — but I understand why it exists and I take it seriously.

What Changed

• Distribution moved exclusively to camstudio.org. While third-party download sites or bundleware networks may have CamStudio V3, I have not authorized them to do so. The only legitimate download source is this website.
• The installer is not bundled with any third-party software. In fact, CamStudio V3 doesn't require any installation at all. Download it, double click it and it runs. No toolbars, no adware, no optional extras.
• The source code will be publicly available. Once the 3.1 stable release is ready, the full source code will be published at Github for anyone to download and compile.

Verify the Current Version Yourself

You don't have to take my word for it. The CamStudio V3 EXE has been scanned by VirusTotal (70+ antivirus engines) and is clean.

• VirusTotal scan — CamStudio V3 EXE — View the full multi-engine scan report
• Download CamStudio V3 — Official download from camstudio.org

Also as of March 10 2026, the V3.1 beta has also been scanned by VirusTotal and is currently showing 3/70 issues, likely due to additional features being added. These are false positives and are being reported as such to the relevant AV companies.

• VirusTotal scan — CamStudio V3.1 Beta EXE — View the full multi-engine scan report
• Learn What's Coming in CamStudio V3.1

If you have concerns about any specific antivirus alert on your machine, please check the VirusTotal reports above. Screen recording software requires elevated system permissions (to capture the desktop) which can trigger heuristic detections in some antivirus products — this is a known false-positive pattern for this category of software. The VirusTotal aggregate result is the most reliable indicator.

How to Download Safely

1. Download only from camstudio.org — specifically from the download link at the top of each page.
2. Do not download CamStudio from SourceForge, CNET, Softonic, or any third-party repository.
3. After downloading, verify the file against the VirusTotal report linked above before running.

Contact

If you have a security concern about CamStudio — a suspicious file, a report that does not match the VirusTotal scan, or anything else — please email me at support @ camstudio . org (remove spaces) so I can address it personally.