Is Baidu Pan (pan.baidu.com) safe? What to check first
pan.baidu.com is Baidu's own website. The risks lie in the shared files, fake login pages and the desktop app. Here is what to check before you download.
Opening a pan.baidu.com link is safe in itself: it is Baidu's own website, run by one of China's largest internet companies. The risks are in three other places: the files people share, pages that try to get your Baidu login, and the desktop app Baidu asks you to install.
Check the address
A real share link starts with https://pan.baidu.com/s/. After you open it, the address may change to https://pan.baidu.com/share/init?surl=, which is also Baidu's. Baidu's sign-in and sign-up pages are on passport.baidu.com.
Be wary of look-alike addresses, shortened links and pages that copy Baidu's design on another domain. Never type your Baidu password into a page that is not on baidu.com.
The files are the real risk
Anyone can share anything on Baidu Pan. Baidu reviews shared content and blocks shares that break its rules, but do not count on that as a virus check. Treat each file as you would any download from a stranger:
- Prefer the link from the original author's own page over copies posted by others.
- Take most care with programs and installers (
.exe,.msi,.apk,.dmg) and with archives that contain them. - Scan downloads with your antivirus before you open them.
- If the author publishes a checksum (MD5 or SHA-256), compare it with your copy.
- A password-protected archive cannot be scanned until it is extracted, so scan the extracted files.
Keep your Baidu login to yourself
Your Baidu password and your browser's Baidu cookies give full access to your account, including your own files. Do not paste them into any website, browser extension or program. PanPull never asks for them. If you have already entered them somewhere you do not trust, change your Baidu password.
If you install the Baidu Netdisk app
The official Windows app is legitimate, but it keeps running in the background. A process called BaiduNetdiskHost.exe belongs to it and starts with Windows. The real file sits in your user folder under AppData\Roaming\baidu\BaiduNetdisk; a file with that name anywhere else, such as in C:\Windows, deserves a virus scan.
Get the app only from Baidu's own download page, pan.baidu.com/download, not from download portals. If you only need it once, uninstall it afterwards.
Your privacy with a Baidu account
A Baidu account is tied to your phone number, and the service operates under Chinese law. Baidu reviews what is shared and can block or remove files. If you would rather not create an account to get one file, you do not have to.
Download without your Baidu account
With PanPull you never enter any Baidu details. Paste the link and its extraction code into the link checker, check the total size and the price, and download the files in your browser. Orders up to 150 MB are free. The files still come from whoever shared them, so scan them just the same.
See how to download from Baidu Pan without a Chinese account.
Paste your share link
Check the total size first. You will see the full price before checkout; checking a link does not charge you.