Pay attention when you are downloading FileZilla from the official site

FileZilla is an open source cross-platform file transfer solution that supports FTP, FTPS and SFTP. We have followed the development of the program since 2007 when we published our first FileZilla review here on this site.

The application was selected for the European Union's bug bounty program among other software applications.

The maintainers of the application have released FileZilla Pro, a commercial version with features that add support for WebDAV and several file storage services such as Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive.

The main download page offers a download for Windows only; this particular version includes a bundled offer, aka adware. Text on the page highlights this: "This installer may include bundled offers. Check below for more options".

If you download the client anyway using that option, you may get a Windows Defender warning about potentially unwanted software. The threat "App:FileZilla_BundleInstaller" is listed with a low severity rating when the file has been scanned by Defender.

It is not possible to run the installer until the file is allowed by an administrator of the system by loading Windows Security from Start, selecting the App:FileZilla_BundleInstaller threat under Virus & Threat protection, and setting it to "allow on device".

However, there is a better option as the project maintains copies of the client version that are adware free. All you need to do is point your browser to the following URL instead: https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?show_all=1

The download page lists downloads for Windows, Mac OS and Linux, and all are free from any bundled additions. The Windows version is offered as a setup version or portable version, and both can be used, as both are free of sponsored content.

You may check the filenames as well to verify that. The version of FileZilla that comes with adware has "sponsored" added to the filename, the clean version names come without the word.

To sum it up: if you have to download FileZilla from the official site, make sure you download the version that does not come with bundled software, that you don't need. If you want an alternative, check out the excellent WinSCP.

Now You: do you use file transfer software? (via Nixcraft/Twitter)

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