[Warning]“Coronavirus map” contains malware

[PrimeNumber7]

There is a string of malware going around that seeks to give the impression that it is a dashboard that tracks coronavirus cases.

According to an article, I found, the malware displays real information obtained from Johns Hopkins University about coronavirus cases.

While the malware does have an actual functioning GUI for tracking coronavirus cases, in the background it collects login information you enter into web browsers and looks for various private keys in various crypto wallet software. According to a security blog post on the malware, it will send the stolen data to an IP address that is associated with http://coronavirusstatus[.]space/

The SHA-245 of the malware is 2b35aa9c70ef66197abfb9bc409952897f9f70818633ab43da85b3825b256307

This should serve as a warning that even if a software appears to be useful, it is not necessarily safe to use if not obtained from a trustworthy source.

[hatshepsut93]

Downloading and running executables from the Internet is the easiest way to get malware on you machine. People should really run only 2 kinds of programs on their machines: the open-sources ones that were reviewed by themselves or others, and the ones that are distributed by some reputable company. And thanks to web apps you often don't even need to install anything and just use a website version, which is perfect for things like live maps.

[Thekool1s]

Jeez! People are that paranoid these days, That we have 3rd party trackers for tracking viruses, huh! They won't trust official sources but are willing to trust random third party software which might come with all sorts of tracking and other malware. LOL!

[PrimeNumber7]

Downloading and running executables from the Internet is the easiest way to get malware on you machine. People should really run only 2 kinds of programs on their machines: the open-sources ones that were reviewed by themselves or others, and the ones that are distributed by some reputable company. And thanks to web apps you often don't even need to install anything and just use a website version, which is perfect for things like live maps.

Even if whoever is promoting the malware were to open source their program, I would suspect most people would be unable to look at it and determine it is malware. If you look at the blog post referenced in the OP, you will see the malware part of the software is fairly deep in the program. It is also possible to create fake reviews, or in the case of a git website, fake stars, forks and the like. It is really best to only run software from a very reputable source, or that you personally build/create.

Jeez! People are that paranoid these days, That we have 3rd party trackers for tracking viruses, huh! They won't trust official sources but are willing to trust random third party software which might come with all sorts of tracking and other malware. LOL!

It appears the malware is selling itself as a way to more efficiently track cases, and stay more up to date.

[Thekool1s]

It appears the malware is selling itself as a way to more efficiently track cases, and stay more up to date.

That makes it even worse... Why do we have bookmarks then?