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.

  • Hairyblue
    35•9 months ago

    What is a free download manager and why would someone need one?

    • lemmyvoreEnglish
      23•9 months ago

      Back in the day when most stuff was on FTP and HTTP and your connection was crap and could drop at any time, you’d use a download manager to smooth things along. It could resume downloads when connection dropped, it could keep a download going for days on end and resume as needed, and it could abusing the bandwitdh limitations of the source site by using multiple parallel connections that pulled on different file chunks. In some ways it was very similar to how we use BT today.

      It was also useful to keep a history of stuff you’d downloaded in case you needed it again, manage the associated files etc.

      • @[email protected]OP
        16•9 months ago

        and it could abusing the bandwitdh limitations of the source site by using multiple parallel connections that pulled on different file chunks

        Also for files which had multiple different mirror sites you could download chunks from multiple mirrors concurrently which would allow you to max out your bandwidth even if individual mirrors were limiting download speeds.

    • Dhs92
      16•9 months ago

      It’s a download client that can pause/Resume downloads, as well as use multiple connections to download files

      • Hairyblue
        4•9 months ago

        Like a BitTorrent?

        I guess I just don’t download that much stuff.

        • @[email protected]English
          10•9 months ago

          Sucks having your connection drop and having to redlownload the entire thing again. Managers are a fix.

        • @[email protected]
          3•9 months ago

          BitTorrent works in chunks basically, or can download it nonlinearly. Downloading from a site in a basic way gets the file from start to finish, the download manager can let you stop it and pick up where you left off, as long as the server you’re getting the file from is configured to allow it.

          https://github.com/agalwood/Motrix

          (Note: I don’t use that or any other download manager and haven’t since Windows 95, it’s linked as example only)

    • @[email protected]
      6•9 months ago

      Back in the 2000s, browsers were really bad at downloading big things over slow connections since they couldn’t resume, a brief disconnect could destroy hours of progress. But I don’t think you need this anymore.