Freshko: Open-Source Rust Tool Offers Local File and URL Scanning Without Data Upload
Freshko is a new lightweight desktop application designed for quick, private checks of suspicious files and links directly on the user's machine. The tool presents a small 400 × 640 pixel window featuring a mint-colored mascot and three primary actions: file or folder scanning, URL inspection, and process analysis for miners.
Files are examined locally by calculating SHA-256 hashes and running them through YARA-X rules. Users can select individual files, folders, or an entire system disk, with results clearly listing any items that could not be processed. URLs are validated by following redirect chains up to eight hops or 25 seconds while querying Cloudflare filtering DNS servers at 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2. The application pins resolved addresses in the HTTP client, disables proxies, and rejects local networks, credentials in URLs, or non-standard ports to reduce risks.
Process checks look for known miner names, stratum+tcp arguments, and execution from temporary directories. High CPU usage alone does not trigger an alert; points are assigned only when multiple indicators are present. The tool never deletes or terminates anything and simply reports findings for the user to decide on.
The developer documented several engineering challenges. One involved preventing DNS rebinding by forcing resolved addresses into the client. Another addressed false positives from legitimate high-CPU applications such as compilers or video renderers. A third ensured the interface honestly reports skipped files instead of falsely claiming a clean result. The final interface was deliberately simplified from an earlier seven-section dashboard to avoid promising features that were not implemented.
Benchmarks recorded on 1 November 2026 using Apple Silicon showed a 9.4 MB macOS archive, 3.5 seconds to scan a 107 MB folder containing 4,185 files, and 0.55 seconds for a basic URL check. Memory usage for the open window stays around 95 MB. All results remain in RAM only, and no analytics, accounts, or advertising are present.
Freshko currently ships with two test rules covering the EICAR test file and XMRig miner traces. It does not replace built-in operating system protections, perform background monitoring, or analyze JavaScript on web pages. The source code and installers for macOS and Windows are available on GitHub.
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