A reported Free Download Manager supply chain attack redirected Linux users to a malicious Debian package repository that installed information-stealing malware.

The malware used in this campaign establishes a reverse shell to a C2 server and installs a Bash stealer that collects user data and account credentials.

Kaspersky discovered the potential supply chain compromise case while investigating suspicious domains, finding that the campaign has been underway for over three years.

    • 30p87@feddit.de
      44·
      1 year ago

      And via a website too. That’s like pushing a car. One of the main strengths of Linux are open repositories, maintained by reputable sources and checked by thousands of reputable people. Packages are checksummed and therefore unable to be switched by malicious parties. Even the AUR is arguably a safer and more regulated source. And it’s actually in there.

    • xkforce@lemmy.world
      243·
      1 year ago

      The same people that would have given that poor nigerian prince their bank account details

    • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
      121·
      1 year ago

      It’s still my favorite download manager on Windows. It often downloads file significantly faster than the download manager built into browsers. Luckily I never installed it on Linux, since I have a habit of only installing from package managers.

      Do you know of a good download manager for Linux?

        • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
          7·
          1 year ago

          FDM does some clever things to boost download speeds. It splits up a download into different chuncks, and somehow downloads them concurrently. It makes a big difference for large files (for example, Linux ISOs).

          • somedaysoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
            16·
            1 year ago

            It only makes a difference if the server is capping the speed per connection. If it’s not then it will not make a difference.

            • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
              41·
              1 year ago

              I guess many servers are capping speeds them. Makes sense since I almost never see downloads actually take advantage of my Gigabit internet speeds.

              • somedaysoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
                41·
                1 year ago

                It’s interesting to me people still download things in that fashion. What are you downloading?

                I occasionally download something from a web server, but not enough to care about using a download manager that might make it marginally faster. Most larger files I’m downloading are either TV shows and movies from torrents and usenet, or games on steam. All of which will easily saturate a 1Gbps connection.

        • arglebargle@lemm.eeEnglish
          71·
          1 year ago

          just grabbed a gig file - it would take about 8 minutes with a standard download in Firefox. Use a manager or axel and it will be 30 seconds. Then again speed isnt everything, its also nice to be able to have auto retry and completion.

      • Xirup@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        8·
        1 year ago

        JDownloader, XDM, FileCentipede (this one is the closest to IDM, although it uses closed source libraries), kGet, etc.

      • arglebargle@lemm.eeEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        axel. use axel -n8 to make 8 connections/segments which it will assemble when it is done

    • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.org
      111·
      1 year ago

      Gotta admit, it was me. I’ve only used a computer for short time.
      I’ve got my first laptop 3 years ago, and that broke after just 2 months. And anyway, with AMD Athlon 64 it greatly struggled with a browser. So really I only started seriously using computer at the start of 2021, when I got another, usable laptop. And that’s when I downloaded freedownloadmanager.deb. Thankfully, I didn’t get that redirect, so it was a legitimate file.

    • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
      8·
      1 year ago

      Oh, I know someone who adds the word “free” to various search words like “free pdf reader” or “free flash player” (happened a very long time ago). He’s also the kind of person who I can imagine having a bunch of viruses and malware on his computer.

    • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
      5·
      1 year ago

      People not well versed in Linux.

      You know, the non-techies, which the Linux community claims should know such things but obviously does not.

    • gaael@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      I’ve installed and used it, and still do.

      My internet connection is not that reliable, and when I download big files that are not torrents (say >1000 MB) and the download is interrupted because of internet disconnect, Firefox often has trouble getting back to it while FDM doesn’t.

      FDM also lets me set download speed limits, which means I can still browse the internet while downloading.

      It’s not my main tool for downloading stuff, but it has its uses.