FileZilla Issues - Malware Alert
Please be advised that FileZilla – a cross-platform graphical FTP, SFTP, and FTPS file management tool for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, as well as other operating systems – has been flagged for bundling malware in to the installation process.
How does the malware get installed on your computer?
A pop-up link will alert the user that their FileZilla application is out-of-date and will direct the user to the website for filezilla-project.org. The download from this link delivers a malicious bundle installation wrapper, a program used to execute one or more installation program. The wrapper contains malware such as fusioncore, installcore, Eldorado, PUP, and PUA. Many of these may not be detected by anti-virus software.
What can you do to protect yourself?
- To protect yourself against this malware, it is best not to use FileZilla.
- If you need to transfer protected information, please use the University's virtual private network (VPN) or contact UMIT for information and assistance.
- UMIT recommends that you use Box, Google Drive, or OneDrive. If you must use an application for file transfer for your servers or systems, please work with UMIT to develop a secure and safe procedure for your applications and your data.
- If you have vendors who use FileZilla, request they discontinue use of that application and move to the University's secure VPN.
- If you are using FileZilla, do not click on the pop-up or allow the pop-up to automatically install the "updates" for your FileZilla application.
- When downloading applications and software, you should always save them to a file on your computer and run your anti-virus application against them to ensure they are free of any malware.
- To prevent malware from being automatically downloaded and installed, disable the "auto-run" and "auto-download" features on your computer.
For more information about this FileZilla issue, please review the following forums on the Reddit and FileZilla Project websites.
Thank you.
