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posted by
martyb
on Friday January 05 2018, @03:50PM
from the the-play's-the-thing-where-I'll-capture... dept.
from the the-play's-the-thing-where-I'll-capture... dept.
TrendMicro has discovered 36 apps in Google Play that execute unwanted behavior:
These apps posed as useful security tools under the names Security Defender, Security Keeper, Smart Security, Advanced Boost, and more. They also advertised a variety of capabilities: scanning, cleaning junk, saving battery, cooling the CPU, locking apps, as well as message security, WiFi security, and so on.
The apps were actually able to perform these simple tasks, but they also secretly harvested user data, tracked user location, and aggressively pushed advertisements.
The apps in question have been removed from Google Play.
Related: Google Pauses Crackdown on Apps That Use Accessibility Features
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Apps on Google Play Disguised as Security Tools Instead Serve Ads and Track Users' Location
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(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Friday January 05 2018, @05:05PM
Am I naive to think that an update to an app in the queue displaces an older version that no longer needs to be reviewed? It seems like the update problem would be with apps that are already reviewed.
Choices for the publisher in this instance:
1. hold my update until reviewed, then replace the older version with the updated one.
2. publish updated version immediately, removing review seal until you get round to it again.
3. either 1 or 2, plus here is some money, review my app within guaranteed timeframe, more money=shorter timeframe.
I would think this would encourage slower, more thoughtful updates, a process which also could slow bugfixes. Can't have everything.