A Linux user’s nightmare: the machine was wiped clean with one click

Timo Tamminen

One day a Linux user using KDE Plasma decided to download a generic theme for his desktop environment. This is possible with Plasma’s built-in tool, through which you can download anything from themes to icons and wallpapers.

Installing themes using Plasma’s tool is easy and fast. It practically only requires one click. This time, however, the user in question certainly wishes that that one click had not been completed.

Namely, installing the theme called Gray Layout wiped the machine completely empty of the user’s personal files. Without asking anything.

Although the theme developer’s intention this time was apparently not malicious, the accident was a clear indication that installing third-party themes without careful supervision can be a bad mistake. With the theme, almost anything can be installed in the user’s home directory.

The Gray Layout installation script ran the rm -rf command, which normally removes all files from the device, making the command particularly dangerous to use. However, without root access, it can only cause limited damage.

Reddit user Jeansen Vaars says that he lost all his games, settings files, browser history and other contents of his home directory in a crash.

The unofficial face of KDE, Nate Graham, apologizes for what happened. He promises that the matter will be thoroughly investigated. The theme in question has also been removed from the theme store.