Original title: Developer of Pandownload, which cracked Baidu Netdisk, arrested
On the afternoon of April 15, according to the Yangzhou Cyber Police patrol law enforcement notice, the developer of Pandownload, which cracked Baidu Netdisk, was captured and his tools of crime seized. Police learned the software could achieve high-speed download of Baidu Netdisk resources at non-member privileges, causing Baidu losses of up to tens of millions of yuan. Upon investigation, the software developer’s illegal gains totaled over 300,000 yuan.
Pandownload first launched in 2017 and was among the earliest software to crack Baidu Netdisk. It’s said Pandownload is easy to use: just scan the QR code with a phone to log in, then you can sync download, share, and delete operations on Baidu Netdisk files.
Pandownload users, without Baidu member privileges, could freely decompress files online and download multiple tasks without speed limits. According to netizens, Pandownload’s download speed was generally above 1M/s, and a single task could even reach 10M/s. Pandownload also had a Baidu Cloud resource search function, letting you directly search and download Baidu Netdisk resources.
Below is the original police notice:
Cyber Cleanup Battle Report: Baoying Cyber Security cracks a case of hacking computer information systems
In February this year, the victim Liu reported that the “Pandownload” software he downloaded would share his Baidu Netdisk data without authorization, leading to leakage of private photos and files.
After sorting it out, police found the software could break Baidu Netdisk’s official settings at non-member privileges to achieve high-speed download — a program/tool that intrudes into and illegally controls computer information systems. The software had tens of thousands of users, causing Beijing Baidu Netcom Technology Co., Ltd. (“Baidu”) losses of up to tens of millions of yuan.
In early April, with sufficient evidence, Baoying Cyber Security went to Guangdong, arrested the suspect Cai Moumeng, and seized on the spot computers, phones, and other tools of crime.
Upon investigation: In 2017, the suspect wrote at home software that could bypass Baidu Netdisk’s official server client authentication, achieving high-speed download of “Pandownload” at non-member privileges, and released it on the internet. During this period, the suspect rented network servers for updates and maintenance and posted a donation QR code, while also creating a QQ group, charging 1 to 10 yuan entry fees to group members, providing a more stable “Pandownload” internal-test version in the group. By the time of the case, the suspect’s illegal gains totaled over 300,000 yuan.
According to the Yangzhou Cyber Police official notice, in 2017 the suspect wrote at home software that could bypass Baidu Netdisk’s official server client authentication, achieving high-speed download of “Pandownload” at non-member privileges, and released it on the internet. During this period, the suspect rented network servers for updates and maintenance and posted a donation QR code, while also creating a QQ group, charging 1 to 10 yuan entry fees to group members, providing a more stable “Pandownload” internal-test version in the group. By the time of the case, the suspect’s illegal gains totaled over 300,000 yuan.
April 16 news — According to the Yangzhou Cyber Police patrol law enforcement official message, the developer of the cracked Baidu Netdisk Pandownload has been caught, and Baidu Netdisk officially responded to this matter in the early hours today.
Official response in full:
We have always actively cooperated with the police and severely cracked down on criminal acts that infringe Baidu Netdisk users’ data privacy. At the same time, Baidu Netdisk will continue to improve the user experience through technology. If you have any suggestions or opinions about Baidu Netdisk, you can contact us and we will listen carefully to your feedback, so Baidu Netdisk can be even better in the future. Here’s a little hint: some specific measures can land this year, so stay tuned. Finally, thank you for your continued support of Baidu Netdisk; it’s your support that has kept Baidu Netdisk going until now. Thank you.