Software crack site hides malware repository

A website found by a security research organization serves malicious files to people who are looking for cracks to software applications.

“The website supposedly offers a wide collection of cracks for different applications,” said Joseph Pacamarra, threats analyst for TrendLabs, in a blog post. “However, attempting to download any of these files will always lead to the same page.”

When a user clicks on a program in the list of supposedly pirated software, they get a download link that in the background transfers a .zip file containing two files, both of which are malicious trojans.

The .zip file is actually hosted on another domain, where more trouble awaits.

“Accessing the top domain where the .zip file is hosted leads to a landing page informing the user that the website is already suspended for violation of terms of service,” Pacamarra wrote. “However, it seems that directly linking to the file, regardless of the alleged suspension, ensures a successful download of any file hosted on the site.”

The suspension did not necessarily stop cybercriminals from using the website's directory as a malware repository for other attacks, according to Pacamarra. 

“This might only be a guise used by criminals to hide the website's real purpose,” Pacamarra wrote.