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Infected Androids Run Up Big Texting Bills

Posted by Roblimo on Monday February 28, 2011 @02:01PM from the watch-out-for-unsanctioned-app-stores dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Computerworld reports that a rogue Android app is hijacking smartphones and running up big texting bills to premium rate numbers before the owner knows it. Chinese hackers grabbed a copy of Steamy Windows, a free program, added a backdoor Trojan horse to the app's code, then placed the reworked app on unsanctioned third-party "app stores" where unsuspecting or careless Android smartphones find it, download it and install it."

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Re:Oh noes! by Jane+Q.+Public · 2011-02-28 15:54 · Score: 4, Interesting

"Most people don't give a shit about "openness" or being able to install software from any third-party."
Perhaps not, but that is rapidly changing. Even governments are recommending open source and open standards, and those ideas are making it into the mainstream, because their advantages have become too large and obvious to ignore.