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7zip.com Is Serving Malware

malwarebytes.com

21–30 of 104 posts

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#21
post #17

I compared https://7-zip.org/a/7z2600-x64.exe with https://7-zip.com/a/7z2600-x64.exe . They are byte-for-byte identical. If there's malware, it isn't obvious.

The OP refers to 7zip.com, no dash. Those dashed domains directly resolve to the same Hetzner server, but the undashed one heads off into Cloudflare.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#22
post #16

Does the 7-Zip author still refuse to digitally sign or even provide hashes of the official downloads? It's an extremely weird flex, he thinks it's a frivolous waste of time or something.

I migrated from 7-Zip to NanaZip, a fork with modern Windows features that the original developer refuses to implement. https://github.com/M2Team/NanaZip

Whenever I see "modern Windows experience", it always turns to be worse than the original one.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#23
I tested with the 3 major browsers and all 3 block it as "Suspected Phishing". So looks like the system is working as designed.

Lookalike websites serving malware have always existed. So this isn't exactly news. But the browsers are blocking them like they should.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#24
post #15
post #6

7zip.com has never been the official website of the project. It's been 7-zip.org

How can the average 7zip user know which one it is? Search results can be gamed by SEO, there were also cases of malware developers buying ads so links to the malware download show up above legitimate ones. Wikipedia works only for projects prominent enough to have a Wikipedia page. What are the other mechanisms for finding out the official website of a software?

> How can the average 7zip user know which one it is?

I dunno, if you type "download 7zip" into Google, the top result is the official website.

Also, 7zip.com is nowhere on the first page, and the most common browsers show you explicitly it's a phishing website.

This is actually a pretty good case of the regular user being pretty safe from downloading malware.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#26
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I migrated from 7-Zip to NanaZip, a fork with modern Windows features that the original developer refuses to implement. https://github.com/M2Team/NanaZip

Whenever I see "modern Windows experience", it always turns to be worse than the original one.

I would agree normally, but this one is a nice change and upgrade, actually.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#27
post #25

I would not trust any sw from Russia. Could be a vector for the FSB. I'm sure they have thought about it.

The same could be said for software from the US. Could be a vector of CIA. For average US citizens, it might even be safer to use Russian software because FSB can't come after them.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#28
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can the average 7zip user know which one it is? Search results can be gamed by SEO, there were also cases of malware developers buying ads so links to the malware download show up above legitimate ones. Wikipedia works only for projects prominent enough to have a Wikipedia page. What are the other mechanisms for finding out the official website of a software?

> How can the average 7zip user know which one it is? I dunno, if you type "download 7zip" into Google, the top result is the official website. Also, 7zip.com is nowhere on the first page, and the most common browsers show you explicitly it's a phishing website. This is actually a pretty good case of the regular user being pretty safe from downloading malware.

> I dunno, if you type "download 7zip" into Google, the top result is the official website.

Until someone puts an ad above it.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#29
post #15
post #6

7zip.com has never been the official website of the project. It's been 7-zip.org

How can the average 7zip user know which one it is? Search results can be gamed by SEO, there were also cases of malware developers buying ads so links to the malware download show up above legitimate ones. Wikipedia works only for projects prominent enough to have a Wikipedia page. What are the other mechanisms for finding out the official website of a software?

There is normally a wiki page for every popular program which normally contains an official site URL. That's how I remember where to actually get PuTTY. Wiki can potentially be abused if it's a lesser known software, but, in general, it's a good indicator of legitimacy.

Re: 7zip.com Is Serving Malware

#30
post #25

I would not trust any sw from Russia. Could be a vector for the FSB. I'm sure they have thought about it.

The same could be said for software from the US. Could be a vector of CIA. For average US citizens, it might even be safer to use Russian software because FSB can't come after them.

Funny thing that it's exactly the same for Russian citizens - they'd rather use US government malware. Same goes for mail providers.
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