30+ Infected Apps Pulled From Android Market

Trailrunner7 writes "Researchers have identified a second large batch of apps in the Android Market that have been infected with the DroidDream malware, estimating that upwards of 30,000 users have downloaded at least one of the more than 30 infected apps. Google has removed the apps from the market. There are at least 34 applications that researchers have found in the Android Market in the last few days that had a version of the DroidDream malware dropped into them. Once a user installs one of the infected applications, the malicious component, which researchers have dubbed DroidDream Light, will kick in once the user receives an incoming call. The malware then gathers some identifying information from the phone, including its IMEI number, IMSI number, packages installed and other data, and then sends it off to a pre-configured remote server."

Comments

Which ones?

[blair1q]

Again, no list in TFA.

You have to dig through it to another article that links to a source article with a list:

http://blog.mylookout.com/2011/03/security-alert-malware-found-in-official-android-market-droiddream/

And that list is over two months old.

Which means this story's hardly viral. More like fungal.

Re:Which ones?

[putch]

It certainly wasn't prominent but there is a current list available here: http://blog.mylookout.com/2011/05/security-alert-droiddreamlight-new-malware-from-the-developers-of-droiddream/

Re:Which ones?

[Kamiza Ikioi]

Look at where that link leads... Lookout anti-virus software for Android. People's entire lives live on these phones. Why would people not protect it?

I find it sad that so many "power" users scoffed at anti-virus/anti-malware for their phones. Waste of space and resources they said. I run Lookout, which does more than just anti-virus. It scans new files I download, then goes away quietly to the background, backs up files, etc. I also run a firewall and adblock software (rooted). I conduct private, work, and finances on my phone. People that do that need to get out of their dreamworld that their phone is hacker proof, regardless of who makes it or what OS it runs. Even if they are behind a walled garden or you never download from unknown publishers, they all run browsers and all browsers can be exploited.

The more powerful phones get, the more they will be targeted. I'm surprised major zombie trojans haven't infected more phones yet. Millions of cheap cpu's for a botnet is a very tempting target, and as they can frequently jump on different wifi and cellular networks, with changing hosts and IPs, They would be hard to block for spam. They would also make for one heck of a DDOS weapon. And with storage ever increasing, they could be hijacked for file sharing.

List of Apps

[Some guy named Chris]

The Lookout Blog has a list of the affected apps.

http://blog.mylookout.com/2011/05/security-alert-droiddreamlight-new-malware-from-the-developers-of-droiddream/

Infected? INFECTED?!?! (no: malicious by design)

[VortexCortex]

The apps were not "Infected" by the droid dream malware -- This would mean that malware was wandering around, infiltrating developer machines and the Marketplace itself... No. Instead, said malware payload was purposefully introduced to innocuous looking apps -- similar to the gift of a poison apple, or a Statuesque Wooden Horse Gift.

Hint: Legit app with "malware dropped into them." describes a malware infection about as well as Stigmata describes the actions of a depressed wrist slitter.

Apparently, the sex-censors have illegalized the word: Trojans. Either that, or the submitter is a moron.

Re:Infected? INFECTED?!?! (no: malicious by design

[thestudio_bob]

The apps were not "Infected" by the droid dream malware -- This would mean that malware was wandering around, infiltrating developer machines and the Marketplace itself... No. Instead, said malware payload was purposefully introduced to innocuous looking apps...

Sorry, but using logic to defend your favorite platform has no use here. Please move along.

Sincerely
An Apple Product User