Hackers breach JDownloader's website to serve malware-laced downloads • Hacker News Board

Re: Hackers breach JDownloader's website to serve malware-laced downloads

#31

Post by Havoc » Fri, May 08, 2026, 10:28 PM UTC

RandomGerm4n wrote: post #9

I wish there was finally a decent alternative to this junk. JDownloader pretends to be GPL, but parts of it are closed source. Plus, the Windows installer on the official site is a gamble, and you can only find a clean installer in the forum. The developers claim it’s "just adware", but since it’s a web-based installer, different things are offered depending on your IP address. Some of these install themselves even i…

I know people are using aria2 for similar purposes but haven't checked out how well it works

Re: Hackers breach JDownloader's website to serve malware-laced downloads

#32

Post by Havoc » Fri, May 08, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC

garyfirestorm wrote: post #14

nticompass wrote: post #12

I remember using download managers back in the day, and by "back in the day" I mean dial-up (and maybe early DSL). I liked being able to pause downloads and possibly split them up using multiple connections. Nowadays, are download managers even needed anymore? At least for me, the internet is fast enough that I don't need a separate download manager, plus browsers support the pausing (and maybe multiple connections?)…

The ‘scene’ or warez sites are still up and running. Sharing cracked softwares, movies shows etc. through file hosting services. If say you wanted a Blu-ray movie with Dolby atmos sizing near 10 gig. Then you’d queue the file sharing site download links in jdownloader and let it automatically manage these downloads for you.

Very much doubt scene is using downloaders these days. ftp for the groups and torrent/usenet for the plebs

Re: Hackers breach JDownloader's website to serve malware-laced downloads

#33

Post by sunaookami » Sat, May 09, 2026, 10:35 AM UTC

RandomGerm4n wrote: post #9

I wish there was finally a decent alternative to this junk. JDownloader pretends to be GPL, but parts of it are closed source. Plus, the Windows installer on the official site is a gamble, and you can only find a clean installer in the forum. The developers claim it’s "just adware", but since it’s a web-based installer, different things are offered depending on your IP address. Some of these install themselves even i…

What part of it is closed-source? You can clone it from the SVN, even the MyJdownloaderClient and all plugins are open-source. Only thing that sucks are their docs because its a Google Doc and there isn't really any explanation but I've got a plugin to work via AI.

Re: Hackers breach JDownloader's website to serve malware-laced downloads

#34

Post by RandomGerm4n » Sun, May 10, 2026, 7:10 AM UTC

sunaookami wrote: post #33

RandomGerm4n wrote: post #9

I wish there was finally a decent alternative to this junk. JDownloader pretends to be GPL, but parts of it are closed source. Plus, the Windows installer on the official site is a gamble, and you can only find a clean installer in the forum. The developers claim it’s "just adware", but since it’s a web-based installer, different things are offered depending on your IP address. Some of these install themselves even i…

What part of it is closed-source? You can clone it from the SVN, even the MyJdownloaderClient and all plugins are open-source. Only thing that sucks are their docs because its a Google Doc and there isn't really any explanation but I've got a plugin to work via AI.

Not all plugins are open source. Some of them are included in the jdclosed dependency which is just a blob. The developers claim this is to prevent sites from patching them. However this approach is not compatible with the GPL and the developers have simply been ignoring this for years.