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Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

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Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#141

Post by busterarm »

jmkni wrote: post #105
happy-go-lucky wrote: post #23

As a kid, the only OS I was aware of was Windows. Once, my computer was infected to the point where it was almost unusable. A more experienced friend suggested a non-free antivirus and the CCleaner. After a lot of effort, I could get my machine back to working, but it became so slow that it led me to discover Linux. Now, on a Windows 10 machine, I’ve nothing but Defender, and since the aforementioned experience I’ve…

I pay for MalwareBytes, I think it's worth it. Apart from that, I just use Defender.

Ditched when they started pushing FUD 5-6 years ago.

I worked in the anti-malware industry for 5 years. Pretty much across the board, this kind of software does more harm than good. AV on corporate email servers or your email provider makes sense. Rooting your own computer and leaving it vulnerable to shitty AV/AM vendor's software doesn't.

Literally saw malware in the wild that exploited AV software.

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#142

Post by r1ch »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #39
tekni5 wrote: post #22

So it was only the 32-bit executable that was affected? By default CCleaner installs both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions, however on 64-bit systems it only runs the 64-bit executable and points every shortcut it makes to the 64-bit executable. On one of my affected systems that appears to have had 5.33 installed, I noticed no registry keys that appear to be created and that system never ran the 32-bit executable. Wou…

According to: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15274517 This blog post from Piriform has more details: http://www.piriform.com/news/release-announcements/2017/9/18... Basically they believe it was only the 32-bit installer that was compromised.

I wish there was more technical information, even the advisory is unclear here.

The CCleaner installer is always 32 bit for compatibility - it installs both 32 bit and 64 bit program binaries. On 64 bit systems, the default shortcuts are to the 64 bit binary.

So was the 32 bit installer compromised, or only the 32 bit binary? The original advisory makes references to the installer which is quite confusing. Tried to figure it out myself but I assume the loader has VM detection techniques as I wasn't able to infect a VM.

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#143

Post by XzetaU8 »

binarray2000 wrote: post #130
zionic wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hardly. CCleaner can easily remove 5-6GB of junk.

I use CCleaner for maybe even 10 years, a great tool. But Windows 10 (a few older versions as well, but somewhat hidden) has something similar called "Disk Cleanup" (Win key > enter "Disk Cleanup" > "Clean up system files" > Check all marks). "Disk Cleanup" removes stuff that CCleaner doesn't, so I use them together. You can even remove system restore and shadow copies (Win key > enter "Disk Cleanup" > "Clean up syst…

> Disk Cleanup" removes stuff that CCleaner doesn't, so I use them together.

And vice versa if you use CCleaner combined with CCEnhancer[1]

[1]: https://singularlabs.com/software/ccenhancer/

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#145

Post by r1ch »

josefresco wrote: post #68
happy-go-lucky wrote: post #23

As a kid, the only OS I was aware of was Windows. Once, my computer was infected to the point where it was almost unusable. A more experienced friend suggested a non-free antivirus and the CCleaner. After a lot of effort, I could get my machine back to working, but it became so slow that it led me to discover Linux. Now, on a Windows 10 machine, I’ve nothing but Defender, and since the aforementioned experience I’ve…

CCleaner is not an Anti-Virus. It does not run in the background (at least the free version) and will not slow your PC. It helps users locate and remove temporary/cache files buried in the OS to free up disk space. It is very useful - even for pros. Defender will not do this.

The free version does load itself into the background these days to pop up messages reminding you to clean your PC.

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#146

Post by jccalhoun »

romanovcode wrote: post #14
kronos29296 wrote: post #3

Just Wow. I am happy now that I haven't updated my installation of ccleaner for over a year and so I am safe.

I'm happy I'm not using Windows XP so I don't need this crapware anymore because Windows10 runs fast w/o it.

I still run it occasionally on my windows 10 laptop which has a small ssd for the main drive.

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#147

Post by Slackwise »

josefresco wrote: post #68
happy-go-lucky wrote: post #23

As a kid, the only OS I was aware of was Windows. Once, my computer was infected to the point where it was almost unusable. A more experienced friend suggested a non-free antivirus and the CCleaner. After a lot of effort, I could get my machine back to working, but it became so slow that it led me to discover Linux. Now, on a Windows 10 machine, I’ve nothing but Defender, and since the aforementioned experience I’ve…

CCleaner is not an Anti-Virus. It does not run in the background (at least the free version) and will not slow your PC. It helps users locate and remove temporary/cache files buried in the OS to free up disk space. It is very useful - even for pros. Defender will not do this.

CCleaner is also essential for cleaning up poorly uninstalled apps leaving registry keys lingering around. It's also great for when you need to fully reset and reinstall a misbehaving app, such as Symantec Endpoint Protection, which fails to clean up several critical registry keys that it checks during installation, and then refuses to re-install if they exist. Sure, you could hunt them down and write a script for Symantec, but CCleaner does it for all apps. I've fixed so many terrible apps and installs using CCleaner, it's an absolute necessity.

That and RevoUinstaller. You run RevoUinstaller then CCleaner, and maybe a reboot in between, and you've really removed an app. (The paid version of Revo is even cooler, as it will let you log the files generated during an install, and then on uninstall, it'll make sure to remove all the files and directories you had previously logged.)

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#148

Post by mikojan »

0xabe wrote: post #58
julianj wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Give Ubuntu desktop a try. The installer allows you to run the OS live without installation. You can use this to see if Ubuntu is something you may be interested in.

My experience with Ubuntu (xubuntu 16.04.x) is that you really need a modern Nvidia card to get high/native resolution. Especially for someone who wants to run 3 monitors.

This Ubuntu user here is driving a 27" 4k Dell with an AMD RX460 that doesn't even have a fan. Works okay.

Re: Malware identified in CCleaner 5.33

#149

Post by nekopa »

ix-hispana wrote: post #75
superasn wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it led me to discover Linux As someone who is the same boat but hasn't discovered Linux yet, how hard would you say it would be to install a version of Linux that support 3 monitors (using an onboard ATI card and a PCIe card)? Last time I tried installing it this is the part I gave up at. Also as a person always been aware of Window I find the graphics in Ubuntu lacking some finesse, i.e. the scrollbars, window pan…

Don't go down that rabbit hole. Linux is not for desktop despite many years of efforts. Even the distro with the greatest focus on UI (elementaryOS) looks like a toy. That Linux is hugely successful everywhere EXCEPT in the desktop should tell us something. Just my honest opinion after 15 years of continuous use in university and work. XKCD still relevant today: https://xkcd.com/456/

I don't know... I have been on Xubuntu for about 4 years now, and love it. Just got a new touchscreen laptop with win10 on it and hate the experience. Switched the wife over to Xubuntu as her win10 laptop was running like crap, and she barely notices any difference in the experience except the Linux system is faster.

I think for a lot of people who want to just browse the Web and watch movies, Linux is more than up to the task. And suit, recently even libreoffice is working fine for my simple needs for word processing and spreadsheet work.

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