I was doing my normal backup routine with WinSCP. Backing up from the server to my desktop. (remote server) It usually takes about 2 or 3 hours to finish completely.

But while it was 74% complete, I got a WinSCP message that said "eterm already exists" . And it gave me the typical prompt asking me what i'd like to do next. (overwrite, yes, no, etc )

This was very weird...as I was coping the directory to a completely empty directory on my desktop. There was nothing at all in there beforehand. Why would it ask me something like that ?

Then I google'd 'eterm' and got a little more paranoid. Initially I did say yes to copy...but after I saw the google results, I canceled all.

Any idea what could of happened ? I'm redoing the backup again now...with root access.

Why would the Google results for "eterm" make you suspicious? For that matter, what exactly makes you think this is a security issue?

As I understand it, you were copying files from a Linux machine onto a Windows machine with Windows software, and the software said the file existed on the local machine already. It is indeed a little odd, but I am straining to think of any way that could be a security issue or evidence of a possible break-in.

Is there some specific case you found references to online which showed behavior like this was linked to a security issue?

MS3, its just that i've never seen my WinSCP transfer be interrupted like that before mid-way through the 'copying' (backing up) process. As if something got in there or hacked the connection midway through.

I never downloaded or had anything related to eterm in my download....or to the place it was downloading to. (it was a brand new , empty folder created a minute before the download started)

With all this being said, I haven't noticed any suspicious behavior since.

Have you searched their bug tracker? It wouldn't be the first time WinSCP has been afflicted by this kind of bug.

Thx for the bugtracker. But what do you think causes those issues ? I have a version thats like 2 years old too..

They can hack in or something ?

No problem.

A programming error most likely, as with most bugs. I don't know the specifics, as I'm not a programmer. Also, the software's maintainer didn't provide an explanation when he stated the fix had been applied AFAICT.

Why don't you upgrade to the latest stable version?

Honestly, this bug doesn't sound like the type to allow for that sort of thing. Of course, you never know — and running old, unmaintained software is sort of like asking for trouble IMHO.

Because i'm a douche & put things off for awhile sometimes.

That's probably not the best mindset to have while asking questions in "Security".

I know, but i've got a million things on my mind at once. The internet has ruined me.

I figured WinSCP is the least of my concerns.