If you see "Vulkan Runtime Libraries 1.0.39.1" in your list of installed programs, it arrived via one of these methods: Driver Updates:
Vulkan is a low-overhead, cross-platform 3D graphics and compute API, developed by the Khronos Group. It’s the successor to OpenGL and competes with DirectX 12 and Metal. Games like Doom Eternal , Red Dead Redemption 2 , and Rainbow Six Siege use Vulkan for better performance and smoother frame pacing. Vulkan Runtime Libraries 1.0.39.1
Key characteristics of this version:
If a game reports that vulkan-1.dll is missing, reinstalling your latest GPU drivers is the most reliable fix. If you see "Vulkan Runtime Libraries 1
So, how did it get there? It was a hitchhiker. When players updated their drivers to play the latest hits (like Key characteristics of this version: If a game
: It typically self-installs during a driver update to ensure your system is ready for the latest games.
However, malware authors sometimes hide malicious files under similar names. To be safe: