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Free Download Manager site redirected Linux users to malware for years
(www.bleepingcomputer.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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Mmmh. You kinda deserve being infected if you do things like this. Every beginner tutorial specifically tells you not to download random stuff from the internet and 'sudo' install it. Every Wiki with helpful information has these boxes that tell you not to do it. I'm okay if you do it anyways. But don't blame anyone else for the consequences. And don't tell me you haven't been warned.
Also I wonder about the impact this had. It went unnoticed for 3 years. So I can't imagine it having affected many people. The text says it affected few people. And it didn't have any real impact.
But supply chain attacks are real. Don't get fooled. And don't install random stuff. Install the download manager from your package repository instead.
I kind of disagree. Applications often require root permissions to install themselves, since regular users can't access certain folders like /opt, etc.
Also, do you really think that people would actually read the source and then compile all their software themselves? Do you do the same?
Generally though I do agree, you're probably fine installing software from your distro's repos but even that's not bulletproof and also it's not like third-party repos are uncommon either.
Yes. I do it the correct way. I use my favourite distro's package manager to install software. This way it's tested, a few people had a look at the changes, and sometimes a CI script automatically determines if the installer affects other parts of the system. I go to great lengths to avoid doing it any other way. (I've been using some flatpaks in recent times, though. But sometimes I also install it only for a separate user account. Mainly when it's proprietary or niche.)
It is super rare that I install random stuff from the internet. Or 'curl' and then pipe the installer script into a root shell. And when I do, I put in some effort to see if it's okay. I think i had a quick glance at most of the install .sh scripts before continuing. So yes, I kinda do my best. And I isolate that stuff and don't put it on the same container that does my email.
Most of the times you can avoid doing it the 'stupid way'. And even the programming package managers like 'npm', 'cargo', ... have started to take supply chain attacks seriously.