A few days ago, netizens noticed an anomaly after using download links found on the official website of JDownloader, a popular software that helps computer users manage their downloads. On Reddit, one Internet user, for example, said that after finishing downloading the file distributed by the official JDownloader website, he received an alert from Windows explaining that it was malicious software. In fact, this netizen had not downloaded the actual JDownloader, but rather a malware that hackers distributed by hacking the JDownloader developer’s website.
The problem was confirmed by himself who, in a note, explains that someone managed to hack his website to modify the download links of the JDownloader installer, to redirect Internet users to malicious software. The incident took place on May 6 and 7 and at the time of writing, the issue has been resolved and the JDownloader site is now functional. The developer also indicates that only “people who downloaded and installed the software from jdownloader.org” during this period, using “One or more website download links for “Download the alternative installer” and/or the link to the affected Linux shell installer” are at risk due to this incident.
Instructions for those who may have been exposed.
In other words, only people who used the modified links during the incident period are at risk. For these people, JDownloader has published a series of instructions to know if they have been trapped, as well as the precautions to take if so. But in any case, these instructions include running a scan with updated antivirus software.
For those who already installed JDownloader before this incident and for those who have the actual installation file, the developer assures that “the official JDownloader installation packages have not been modified” and that no personal user data has been stolen. The perpetrators of this attack only had access to the website’s CMS, which is used to manage its content.
But in any case, the incident is dangerous, because Internet users are generally less attentive when downloading software from the developer’s official website.
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