Warning! Hackers Hid Malware in CCleaner Antivirus Software

CCleaner is one of the most popular cleaning tools for your PC, but it seems that hackers managed to use this tool to spread malware. Two versions of the software released in August were affected, the company said.

Researchers at cyber intelligence firm Cisco Talos have discovered that a version of the popular maintenance software CCleaner is infected with malware. USA authorities blocked access to the server on September 15; the developer together with Avast (which acquired UK-based Piriform back in July) are conducting an investigation.

Anyone who uploaded CCleaner between August 15 to September 12 are advised to manually download and update their software immediately.

Some 2.27 million users had downloaded that version of CCleaner, a spokesperson told Reuters, while 5,000 users had installed the compromised version of CCleaner Cloud. Anyone who has installed or updated Piriform's CCleaner in the past 4-5 weeks needs to uninstall CCleaner and then run anti-malware programs to remove any potentially damaging programs from their computers.

Updated versions of CCleaner and CCleaner Cloud have since been released; users of the former should download version 5.34 of CCleaner if they've not already done so, while CCleaner Cloud customers will have already received the update to 1.07.3214.

In that period, a trojan was loaded into the download package which sent "non-sensitive data" from infected users' computers back to a server located in the US. "In other words, to the best of our knowledge, we were able to disarm the threat before it was able to do any harm", Paul Yung, Piriform's VP of products confirmed.

However, those running the standard version will want to ensure they have updated to the latest version, particularly if they downloaded it in the past month. But Piriform said the hackers' control server had been disabled and the alternative servers used by the malware weren't accessible, meaning there was no way for hackers to communicate with the malware.

Hackers Hid Malware in CCleaner Antivirus Software appeared first on InvestorPlace.

He apologised for any inconvenience that had been caused and said the company's investigation into the attack was "ongoing".

Cisco's cybersecurity research team, Cisco Talos, revealed the news and has been alerting consumers and businesses regarding the incident which has the potential to affect millions of users worldwide.