hosts.txt showing up in downloads

[Char42]

Has anyone experienced a hosts.txt file showing up in their downloads - unrooted device?

 

[Rukbat]

No, have you looked at it to see what's in it? That's not any kind of "standard" file. hosts is a file in /etc. that's used as a "first line" of the DNS, but hosts.txt might be a hosts file that's been renamed (all it would have is 127.0.0.1 and 1 as entries). Or it could be something entirely different.

 

[krisqz]

I would suspect an internet browser or download accelerator of you use any.

 

[Char42]

No, have you looked at it to see what's in it? That's not any kind of "standard" file. hosts is a file in /etc. that's used as a "first line" of the DNS, but hosts.txt might be a hosts file that's been renamed (all it would have is 127.0.0.1 and 1 as entries). Or it could be something entirely different.

I didn't open it ; in the event that it's malware. Yeah I figured it would be in some sort of directory and not in the downloads section. I will try & open it the next time - I catch it.

Hopefully no backdoor, or rogue malware editing the host file for redirect reasons. Does anyone have a good traffic / network monitoring app for unrooted devices?

 

[Char42]

I would suspect an internet browser or download accelerator of you use any.

DuckDuckGo/Via Browser - Internet Browser - maybe.

 

[Rukbat]

A .txt file can't be malware if you open it in a text editor. Even if it's some sort of malware, a text editor isn't going to execute it. It's like sprinkling cyanide inside your tire - it won't poison you. Just don't tap the text file when you're in a file manager - it could be something else. Open it from inside a text editor.

 

[Char42]

A .txt file can't be malware if you open it in a text editor. Even if it's some sort of malware, a text editor isn't going to execute it. It's like sprinkling cyanide inside your tire - it won't poison you. Just don't tap the text file when you're in a file manager - it could be something else. Open it from inside a text editor.

Ok will do - next time I see it

 

[100 Watt Walrus]

DuckDuckGo/Via Browser - Internet Browser - maybe.

Just found this thread while googling for why hosts.txt keeps turning up in /download/. We have Via Browser in common. It's such a weird little browser that this correlation alone makes me suspect it's the culprit — although I still don't know what triggers it to create a hosts file. I just chuck them out when I see them. They're usually 0.0kb and empty anyway.