Malware Infected Apps Threatening Android Devices

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This isn't good, this isn't good at all. Android device owners need to be on the look out for some pretty nasty malware making the rounds. :(

A sophisticated trojan dubbed Gemini is threatening Android devices in China and could spread to devices in other regions, according to a new report issued by the security firm Lookout. The firm claims the trojan may be the most advanced bit of Android malware to date and is the first to display “botnet-like capablities.”
Click to expand...
 
People will be malicious when you have a 100% unsupervised free-for-all app platform? Say it isn't so!
 
So let me get this straight, user has to use 3rd party app store, apps are hijacked w/ additional code which turns them into trojans, but when installing these apps, it makes the user approve an " abnormal level of access " . The issue these days is that there are too many people not paying attention to anything they are doing, call them stupid, call them what ever you want, you can't protect people from themselves all the time. If you did we would not have car accidents, we would not have stairs, ice..

Signs on roads, and signals on cars tell other drivers what lies ahead. That is what the app permissions mean. You download a game like angry birds that requests, SMS, GPS, Internet, Access to Contacts etc.... Does that make sense? No. Stay away.

A great example actually is this app..

http://www.cyrket.com/p/android/com.androminigsm.fscifree/

I was thinking about downloading it, but it requests way too much information...

Permissions: ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE , CALL_PHONE , CAMERA , DISABLE_KEYGUARD , GET_TASKS , INTERNET , MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS , MODIFY_PHONE_STATE , PROCESS_OUTGOING_CALLS , READ_CONTACTS , READ_PHONE_STATE , RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED , RECEIVE_SMS , RECORD_AUDIO , RECORD_VIDEO , RESTART_PACKAGES , SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW , WAKE_LOCK , WRITE_CONTACTS , WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Some of it could be legit...

Access Network State - so it knows the status of incoming calls
Call phone - so you can dial a number
Camera - Why?
Disable_keyguard - So you can quickly answer the phone
Get Tasks - Why?
Internet - Why?
Modify Audio Settings - change call / ring volume,
Modify Phone State - Ok
Process Outgoing calls - I thought this was for inbound calls?
Etc. etc..

Basically seems to want way too much information.
 
Damn those malicious hackers!! Damn them to Hell!!! :mad:They're worse than spammers. And we all know that spammers should die.:)
 
chrispix said:
So let me get this straight, user has to use 3rd party app store, apps are hijacked w/ additional code which turns them into trojans, but when installing these apps, it makes the user approve an " abnormal level of access " . The issue these days is that there are too many people not paying attention to anything they are doing, call them stupid, call them what ever you want, you can't protect people from themselves all the time. If you did we would not have car accidents, we would not have stairs, ice..

Signs on roads, and signals on cars tell other drivers what lies ahead. That is what the app permissions mean. You download a game like angry birds that requests, SMS, GPS, Internet, Access to Contacts etc.... Does that make sense? No. Stay away.

A great example actually is this app..

http://www.cyrket.com/p/android/com.androminigsm.fscifree/

I was thinking about downloading it, but it requests way too much information...

Permissions: ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE , CALL_PHONE , CAMERA , DISABLE_KEYGUARD , GET_TASKS , INTERNET , MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS , MODIFY_PHONE_STATE , PROCESS_OUTGOING_CALLS , READ_CONTACTS , READ_PHONE_STATE , RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED , RECEIVE_SMS , RECORD_AUDIO , RECORD_VIDEO , RESTART_PACKAGES , SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW , WAKE_LOCK , WRITE_CONTACTS , WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Some of it could be legit...

Access Network State - so it knows the status of incoming calls
Call phone - so you can dial a number
Camera - Why?
Disable_keyguard - So you can quickly answer the phone
Get Tasks - Why?
Internet - Why?
Modify Audio Settings - change call / ring volume,
Modify Phone State - Ok
Process Outgoing calls - I thought this was for inbound calls?
Etc. etc..

Basically seems to want way too much information.
Click to expand...

Hammer, meet nail. :)

IME, when "trusted" apps ask for "full Internet access" but don't have any business doing so, it's usually for ad serving. Ex: Angry Birds.
 
This is only on the 3rd part stoors. It hasn't made it to the google ran market yet.
 
Huh, anyone else think this might be some of China's revenge on google (when they informed everyone that china was hacking them)? Didn't I even see a news article mentioning one of those wiki docs that leaked confirming the hacking?
 
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