The exe file is one of the most useful types of files precisely because it runs programs; however, this also makes it potentially harmful. It can be used as a delivery system for viruses or other malicious routines.
Outwardly, the infected exe file might seem quite benign. Clicking on it might appear to launch nothing more than an animated cartoon or simple arcade game. However, unseen code can be running in the background, infecting or compromising the computer. If one clicks on a malicious exe file, over the next several hours or days the computer might become unstable. Often the user does not relate the problem back to the cause and attributes it to other factors, such as the need to defragment or replace a disk.
Personal information or password keystrokes might be handed over to an unknown website without knowledge of the user, or the machine might delete its own files and crash altogether. Any of these scenarios and more can be set in motion by simply clicking on a 'bad' exe file. Because of the potential harm, when downloading any exe file it's a good idea to scan it with a reputable virus scanner before clicking on it.
It doesn't have to be. If you just unpack an archive, no shortcut is added to Start menu, hence you'll have to navigate to the folder where the unpacked application is located and start it from there, or manually create a shortcut for it in Start menu. Many computer users find it difficult. An installer guides users through the installation process. You download the installer,. It picks up the installation folder, usually in Program Files , copies the files, creates shortcut in Start menu.
You're done: in the majority of cases you simply click Next several time. Then go to Start menu and run the application.
Some installers provide an option to start the application when installation is complete. If the application opens files or documents of certain type, the installer registers it with the shell. So that you can click the file to open it.
Many applications, both commercial and free ones, require you to accept the license agreement before you can use their application. Installation doesn't proceed until you acknowledge you agree to the license terms.
Even if you didn't read the license, you have agreed to it. Sometimes it's not enough to simply copy the executable files. Applications often use shared components or special runtime libraries. For example,. Net framework runtime has to installed to run the application written for. The installer takes care of ensuring all the dependencies are satisfied. If an application consists of several. If a vulnerability is found in the runtime, it can updated separately from the application.
Updates to. If executables and libraries are statically linked, then application vendor has to recompile the application and release the updated version. So using shared runtime reduces cost of application maintenance for developers and vendors. Installing to Program Files also provides more secure environment: the files there can't be modified or deleted without administrator privileges. Many Windows applications rely on entries in the registry.
If application uses COM, all the objects have to be registered otherwise the application will fail to create the needed object and will not start. Brief answer: a stand-alone exe requires no libraries be installed on the computer to run, and requires no registry entries or other components.
An installed file can be a stand-alone in an installer package, but is generally dependent on a variety of components and libraries installed alongside it. In many cases, through Universal Extractor unofficial update: here , you can extract the contents of an installer and run a program without administrative privledges in windows. MSI installers can be unpacked with lessmsi.
Personally, I despise installers the majority of the time, because they make it harder for me to use programs with out administrative privledges when I don't have them. But they are packaged that way by large companies to simplify the process for the average end user. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.
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Asked 7 years, 11 months ago. Active 7 years, 4 months ago. Viewed 13k times. Is there a difference here I'm unaware of with a non-installed program versus an installed one? Improve this question. Add a comment.
Active Oldest Votes. There are several reasons why programs come as installers rather than standalone executables: File Size Concerns Programs with many, large dependencies can bundle Web-based installers that download the dependencies and place them in a common location, so that they can be shared by multiple programs. User Convenience Concerns Installers for very large programs, such as Visual Studio and Microsoft Office, allow the user to de-select the installation of certain features, if the user knows they will never need them.
Compatibility Concerns Some programs conflict with other programs. Elevated privileges and special services Some programs depend on changes to the operating system for their functionality, and these changes can't easily be implemented without some kind of installer to take care of them with administrative privileges.
For instance, programs that install drivers or kernel modules, such as Wireshark, can't simply be run, because you absolutely have to ship the kernel-mode components in separate files. In the absolute best case, you would still have to have the user manually unzip an archive, and then run some kind of installer for the device driver.
Services are another example of something that requires administrative privileges to install. Deciding which type of executable file to choose when developing a software installer is based on the program you have and the amount of effort that you would like to put in the installer. While EXE will give you the freedom to create the installer with the customizable options, MSI simplifies the task by conforming to preset standards.
Key Difference: A MSI file is an executable file that is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems. The main purpose of an executable file is to install or run files that are already installed on the computer.
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