Give Us A Call

CCleaner hacked with malware; what is known & what to do

Piriform announced on Monday that on September 12th, 2017 they discovered that the 32-bit version of their CCleaner and CCleaner Cloud programs were infected with malware. Approximately 3% of their CCleaner customers, specifically those running 32-bit Windows 10, were affected. The versions that were affected are CCleaner v5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 for 32-bit Windows PCs. The Android version for phones doesn’t seem to be affected.

Piriform issued a press release to their Cleaner customers, users and supporters with more details:

“We would like to apologize for a security incident that we have recently found in CCleaner version 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud version 1.07.3191. A suspicious activity was identified on September 12th, 2017, where we saw an unknown IP address receiving data from software found in version 5.33.6162 of CCleaner, and CCleaner Cloud version 1.07.3191, on 32-bit Windows systems. Based on further analysis, we found that the 5.33.6162 version of CCleaner and the 1.07.3191 version of CCleaner Cloud was illegally modified before it was released to the public, and we started an investigation process. We also immediately contacted law enforcement units and worked with them on resolving the issue. Before delving into the technical details, let me say that the threat has now been resolved in the sense that the rogue server is down, other potential servers are out of the control of the attacker, and we’re moving all existing CCleaner v5.33.6162 users to the latest version. Users of CCleaner Cloud version 1.07.3191 have received an automatic update. In other words, to the best of our knowledge, we were able to disarm the threat before it was able to do any harm.”

“At this stage, we don’t want to speculate how the unauthorized code appeared in the CCleaner software, where the attack originated from, how long it was being prepared and who stood behind it. The investigation is still ongoing. We want to thank the Avast Threat Labs for their help and assistance with this analysis.”

“Again, we would like to apologize for any inconvenience this incident could have caused to our clients; we are taking detailed steps internally so that this does not happen again, and to ensure your security while using any of our Piriform products. Users of our cloud version have received an automated update. For all other users, if you have not already done so, we encourage you to update your CCleaner software to version 5.34 or higher.”

Bottom line, most people have a 64-bit Windows system, so they are probably not affected by this. To be safe, I recommend that all users of CCleaner run a scan with Malwarebytes, and update to the latest version of CCleaner (5.34) via Patch My PC.

Call Today!

920-735-1806
Recent Posts
🔒 Safeguarding Real Estate Transactions: A Cautionary Tale 🏠💰

🔒 Safeguarding Real Estate Transactions: A Cautionary Tale 🏠💰

(A true story rewritten with MS Co-Pilot AI.) Last month, I saw a friend who happens to be a real ...
Picture of HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay, WI

Advice to Victims of HSHS Prevea Cyber Security Incident

I was interviewed last week Monday Aug. 28th, 2023 by Green Bay TV station WLUK-TV FOX 11 for a story ...
Tech scam email from Apple iCloud account charging for Microsoft Windows Defender

Protecting Yourself from Tech-Related Email Scams: Common Scams and How to Avoid Them

I asked ChatGPT to write an article on common tech related emails scams and how to not fall victim to ...

Virus, Adware, Spyware, and other Malware (Malicious Software) Removal and Prevention.
Internet security & privacy including computer maintenance.
Want your computer to run better? Get it in shape - ESSERcise it
Is your computer possessed?
Get the demons out -
perform an ESSERcism!

Get in Touch

Esser Consulting, LLC
Curt Esser

2410 S. Kerry Lane
Appleton, WI 54915-1665

(920) 735-1806
cesser@esserconsulting.com

© 2024 Copyright Esser Consulting, LLC. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Site Use | Accessibility Policies

Website developed by Packerland Websites