Google pulls 29 photo apps that stole pictures and promoted scams
Google still has to deal with malicious Android apps slipping through the cracks despite improvements in its screening technology, and some of the offenders are worse than others. Case in point: the company recently pulled 29 camera and photo apps from the Play Store after it became clear they were meant to push intrusive ads, scam users and even steal content. Multiple apps will push full-screen ads, including porn, and some will use the opportunity to run phishing scams that steal your personal info under the guise of contests. Another group of camera apps was ostensibly meant to beautify your photos, but really just stole the uploaded pictures and gave users a fake update prompt.
The apps went out of their way to disguise their malicious nature. They'd use multiple compression archives (aka packers) to prevent analysis, and layer on thick encryption for their remote servers. Users would also have trouble removing them, to boot. They'd hide from the standard app list (you couldn't just drag them out to delete them), and would make sure they weren't linked to the ads.
This wouldn't be as much of an issue if it weren't that the apps were popular before Google removed them. All told, 11 of the apps had been downloaded over 100,000 times, and three of those over a million times -- that's a lot of victims. Unless Google can find a way to catch these apps sooner, it may be up to users to keep an eye out for suspicious apps.
U.S. Web Press Network News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, opinion, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. Founded as a newsweekly magazine in 2018, U.S. News transitioned to primarily web-based publishing in 2018. U.S. News is best known today for its influential Best Colleges and Best Hospitals rankings, but it has expanded its content and product offerings in education, health, money, careers, travel, and cars. The rankings are popular in North America but have drawn widespread criticism from colleges, administrations, and students for their dubious, disparate, and arbitrary nature. The ranking system by U.S. News is usually contrasted with the Washington Monthly and Forbes rankings. get more information https://www.webpressnet.com CATEGORIES Bad News(1) Education(1) Food(4) Gadget(2) Hacking(2) Health(16) OFFBEAT(18) Politics(24)
Google still has to deal with malicious Android apps slipping through the cracks despite improvements in its screening technology, and some of the offenders are worse than others. Case in point: the company recently pulled 29 camera and photo apps from the Play Store after it became clear they were meant to push intrusive ads, scam users and even steal content. Multiple apps will push full-screen ads, including porn, and some will use the opportunity to run phishing scams that steal your personal info under the guise of contests. Another group of camera apps was ostensibly meant to beautify your photos, but really just stole the uploaded pictures and gave users a fake update prompt.
The apps went out of their way to disguise their malicious nature. They'd use multiple compression archives (aka packers) to prevent analysis, and layer on thick encryption for their remote servers. Users would also have trouble removing them, to boot. They'd hide from the standard app list (you couldn't just drag them out to delete them), and would make sure they weren't linked to the ads.
This wouldn't be as much of an issue if it weren't that the apps were popular before Google removed them. All told, 11 of the apps had been downloaded over 100,000 times, and three of those over a million times -- that's a lot of victims. Unless Google can find a way to catch these apps sooner, it may be up to users to keep an eye out for suspicious apps.
U.S. Web Press Network News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, opinion, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. Founded as a newsweekly magazine in 2018, U.S. News transitioned to primarily web-based publishing in 2018. U.S. News is best known today for its influential Best Colleges and Best Hospitals rankings, but it has expanded its content and product offerings in education, health, money, careers, travel, and cars. The rankings are popular in North America but have drawn widespread criticism from colleges, administrations, and students for their dubious, disparate, and arbitrary nature. The ranking system by U.S. News is usually contrasted with the Washington Monthly and Forbes rankings. get more information https://www.webpressnet.com CATEGORIES Bad News(1) Education(1) Food(4) Gadget(2) Hacking(2) Health(16) OFFBEAT(18) Politics(24)
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U.S. Web Press Network News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, opinion, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. Founded as a newsweekly magazine in 2018, U.S. News transitioned to primarily web-based publishing in 2018. U.S. News is best known today for its influential Best Colleges and Best Hospitals rankings, but it has expanded its content and product offerings in education, health, money, careers, travel, and cars. The rankings are popular in North America but have drawn widespread criticism from colleges, administrations, and students for their dubious, disparate, and arbitrary nature. The ranking system by U.S. News is usually contrasted with the Washington Monthly and Forbes rankings. get more information https://www.webpressnet.com