ESET researchers discovered eight apps on Google Play that trick users into downloading them, paying lifetime subscriptions, sharing their personal information and consenting to receive marketing messages or monitoringof advertisements. Hiding their true function, most of them promise to increase the number of followers of the victim on social networks. Oapplications - detected by ESET until the Android / Fasurke - ήταν διαθέσιμες στο κατάστημα Google Play for over four months. Despite the significant number of negative reviews they have made, hundreds of thousands have arrived downloads. After information of ESETThe team security of Android removed all apps from the store.
"Although applications no longer pose a risk to its users Android, it is worth discovering the exact way they were working, as sooner or later, such malicious apps may reappear in Google Play» he said Security Researcher of ESET Lukš Štefanko, who discovered the malicious applications.
In the most common case, the application required users to enter their personal information and choose the number of followers that they wanted to acquire. However, after pressing the "Start Generating", The user presented a step for supposed confirmation that he was a human being.
However, this was just a cover-up that was used to convey users to endless offers of gifts, vouchers and free services, as well as requests for personal information such as name, Email, address, telephone, date of birth and sex. Users were also asked to give their consent to receive calls from telesales and messages, some of which were SMS with charges of about 4,8 per week.
"The sole purpose of all these surveys, advertisements, offers, prizes, gift vouchers, and other cheap marketing techniques was to get as much information and money as possible from users who wanted a lot more followers» warns about LukStephenko.
To stay safe from misleading and other harmful applications, its users Android they should follow the best safety practices recommended by the experts ESET:
- If possible, stay true to Google Play or any other store that has trusted apps. These stores may not be completely free from malicious applications, but you are more likely to avoid them.
- Before the installation of any app, check its ratings and reviews. Focus mainly on the negative ones, as they often come from real users, while the positive comments may have been created by cybercriminals.
- In front of shocking offers, keep in mind the golden rule "If it looks very good to be true, it's probably not". If they offer you half a million followers δωρεάν, με ένα μόνο κλικ - ή μετά την ολοκλήρωση μίας έρευνας – πιθανά δεν θα μπορέσουν να σας τους προσφέρουν.
- Think twice before entering your personal information, giving your consent to something or ordering goods or services. Be absolutely sure of what you will receive in return.
- Invest a little time to learn more about who you are preparing to trade with.
- Use a reliable one solution mobile devices security. It's also important to protect all your devices, so you may need one multi-device security package.
More information about these bogus applications can be found at Article Closeš Štefanko for official blog of ESET for IT security, WeLiveSecurity.com.
