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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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sillema sillema nika su
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @09:38PM
I go to a local store and buy a £20 card for the Play store for those occasions where I feel the need to pass some money back to the developers of the small number of bits of software on the Play store that I actually find of use, ditto wrt the Apple store.
In both cases, no credit cards involved at any point.
(but thanks for the pointer to aptoide...I don't keep up with these sites.)