Your Downloads folder probably contains a few PDFs, forgotten screenshots, and several files named some variation of "final." But according to a recent report by security company Forever, it could also contain instructions telling your AI assistant to install malware .

In an Oct. 22 blog post , the company reported that they caught an AI coding assistant following those instructions on a customer's computer. The company blocked the installation, then traced the request to a text file in Downloads.

How does a text file get that kind of power? Tools like OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code can, depending on their permissions, edit files, run commands, and install software. Developers leave them instruction files called AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md to explain how to work on a project. If you're building a website, those notes might tell the assistant which fonts to use or what to test before finishing.

An attacker can leave instructions, too.…