WinRAR has a security hole 19 years ago; see how to protect yourself | Security

A flaw discovered in WinRAR has put about 500 million users at risk for at least 19 years. Revealed by Checkpoint researchers, the vulnerability allowed hackers to simply download viruses to a PC without the owner's knowledge.

The bug in the unzipping program was fixed this Thursday (21st) through an emergency update. The 5.70 beta 2 version of the software that addresses the issue is now available for free download. Know the dangers posed by the security breach and know how to protect yourself.

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WinRAR "hid" secret passage for viruses for 19 years Photo: Divulgao

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The problem in WinRAR was linked to an old and underused compression format called ACE. Checkpoint experts found that this type of file worked based on an old, defective Windows DLL, which has not been updated since 2006.

According to the study, malware disguised as a .ace-only package would need to be renamed to .rar format to fool WinRAR: the program could therefore easily unzip a virus onto the PC without generating suspicion.

It is unknown whether hackers have already taken advantage of the flaw to attack users. However, once the bug becomes public, the chances of first casualties increase. WinRAR users should therefore download the patch update as soon as possible to avoid problems. The new version relinquishes support for ACE-type files, which should eliminate the chances of exploiting the vulnerability.

The simplest way to upgrade WinRAR by downloading the latest version from the official website (https://www.win-rar/). Go to the download page and click on the link that appears at the top of the page, which says version 5.70 Beta 2. After downloading, install the package normally with a double click.

Download the latest WinRAR Beta versions to fix the problem Photo: Reproduction / Paulo AlvesDownload the latest WinRAR Beta versions to fix the problem Photo: Reproduction / Paulo Alves

Download the latest WinRAR Beta versions to fix the problem Photo: Reproduction / Paulo Alves

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