Hi, I’ve recently replaced Ubuntu 16.04 Mate with 18.04. I’m quite pleased with the newer version. A couple of days ago, I managed to allow someone to install something called “my download helper” on my Firefox browser. I’ve since refreshed the browser, but I’m wondering if there are other precautions I should take to make sure that there’s nothing more lurking in my system.
Honestly I see no need for such a thing. Better safe than sorry; I’d bin it and install jdownloader as a download helping utility separate from your browser so if your browser ever does crash you don’t lose progress from it. Also bypasses most shorteners.
Thanks! I had already refreshed the browser (latest Firefox version), and it seemed to be operating normally. I’ve never felt a need to install a “download helper.” I only received “my inbox helper” because I foolishly clicked yes on a prompt asking permission to install software on my computer. I had felt that I was working with a “trusted” site. My browser was immediately hijacked. After a refresh, my browser appears to be functioning perfectly normally. Nothing else in my system seems affected. I wanted to make sure that some kind of “worm” or something isn’t lurking somewhere in my system. Linux doesn’t have a lot of tools for checking those things out.
Thanks, again!
I want to elaborate on this phrase as some people may not understand its intention; there are URL shorteners which are absolutely laden with ads. These ad-based, for-profit shorteners can contain just about anything, with the worst content being bait links for malware, pornography and even 419 Windows scams made to make you think there is something wrong with your PC when there isn't, so a stranger from a foreign continent can access and modify your PC, and extort you for money with services you didn't need.
Since Firefox isn’t run as the superuser, the most damage any dodgy software could possibly do is files in your home directory. Hopefully this extension is legitimate in the sense it’s not some malware that maliciously had other plans.
If you want to be absolutely sure Firefox is clean, close it entirely and delete its configuration from the terminal:
rm -rf ~/.mozilla/firefox
– This would wipe everything - history, bookmarks, extensions, etc
Since you say Firefox has been running perfectly normal, I think we’re OK, since we’re not dealing with issues as listed here:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware