Beware of JDownloader
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2015 9:57 am
I've used Jdownloader successfully for a few years now - no problems at all. Last week, I got a new laptop so reinstalled all the software that I use. When I'd finished, I realised that I had some malware ('Search Know Ads') on my laptop. Tried every which way to get rid of it but ended up having to do a factory reset. I was more careful second time round and, long story short, realised that the malware had been introduced via JDownloader. When I Googled it, there's a lot of stuff about the latest version, JDownloader 2, having malware.
Because I'd used the latest version. I thought I'd go back and try the original installation file for JDownloader from a couple of years ago, which I still had on my old machine. Norton immediately said that there was "suspicious outgoing traffic" and that it had blocked an attempt to install a Trojan. So, whichever installation version of JDownloader you use, it must do a 'handshake' with the mother-ship to try and download the dodgy software. As an experiment, I also tried installing the old version whilst disconnected from the internet. The install tried to connect and just froze because it couldn't - I had to kill the process eventually.
So please be careful - if, like me, you've used JDownloader without problems so far, it doesn't mean that you will continue to do so after an upgrade/reinstall.
Because I'd used the latest version. I thought I'd go back and try the original installation file for JDownloader from a couple of years ago, which I still had on my old machine. Norton immediately said that there was "suspicious outgoing traffic" and that it had blocked an attempt to install a Trojan. So, whichever installation version of JDownloader you use, it must do a 'handshake' with the mother-ship to try and download the dodgy software. As an experiment, I also tried installing the old version whilst disconnected from the internet. The install tried to connect and just froze because it couldn't - I had to kill the process eventually.
So please be careful - if, like me, you've used JDownloader without problems so far, it doesn't mean that you will continue to do so after an upgrade/reinstall.