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Over 60% of Android Malware Hides In Fake Versions of Popular Apps
An anonymous reader writes "Like any popular platform, Android has malware. Google's mobile operating system is relatively new, however, so the problem is still taking form. In fact, it turns out that the larger majority of threats on Android come from a single malware family: Android.FakeInstaller, also known as OpFake, which generates revenue by silently sending expensive text messages in the background. McAfee says that the malware family makes up more than 60 percent of Android samples the company processes."
Meh...
If you are not smart enough to install non-market Android apps, you have no problem.
If you are smart enough to install non-market Android apps, you know what you are getting into.
With great power comes great responsibility. I think these pieces keep surfacing because the Anti-Virus companies desperately need to get into this market. They see it is the future and they want a piece of it.
then there is no need for McAfee and CO. Makes you think!
I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
Thank you Captain Obvious! Who would have thought to hide malware in a known program?
sudo make me a sandwich
Top of article:
End of article:
So in essence this article is a nearly-worthless scare piece. Unless you're downloading "pirated" versions of (presumably) commercial apps from a shady source, this article isn't relevant. But then, it's a McAfee article, so surprise.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
A platform with lots of viruses. How quaint. Android truly is the Windows PC of mobile phones. The answer is a single walled garden.
finds libraries of this stuff ready for downlolad with instructions etc....
ive seen it said here so many times ----------> how is this news?
Someone help me with that one. So it tricks users into sending an expensive SMS. So how in the world does that enrich the hackers? I pay my SMS fees to AT&T. Are we saying that AT&T is behind these attacks?
You can tell a beat up a mile away when it attacks one thing as the problem when the issue is an attribute shared by many things. The problem here is the stupid app store model. It means you get a core of apps ranked by popularity. It goes out information on which apps to attack. Then it provides a distribution vector for the malware that hides chaff amongst the grain. The problem isn't android, or the stores it uses, or android manufacturers but its the entire app store model. Android or apple or blackberry or Linux, it's a proven problem on all centralized and therefore weak distribution models.
You only have to place the blame on the promoters of such models. I wonder who that would be...
The solution, of course, will be to buy Macafee's Android security offerings.
Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
It's 2012 - most phones can connect to a mail server over 2G, 3G or wifi.
Why are we still messing around with a 140-character hack that belongs in the 1990s and which requires the recipient to be using a phone?
Just send an e-mail.
Some of the legitimate apps at the legitimate app store have messed up policies as well:
Mass Effect Infiltrator: needs to be able to change network connectivity, modify system settings, read phone status and ID and be able to read my contacts. Why?
Order & Chaos online: needs to be able to edit text msgs, read txt msgs, receive txt msgs, change network connectivity incl connecting+disconnecting from wi-fi, disable my screen lock, send SMS messages, read phone status and ID, and run at startup. Why?
I skipped buying either of these even when they were priced at $0.25 because of the bizarre permission policies.
get all puffed up over this one
[quote]"Like any popular platform, Android has malware. Google's mobile operating system is relatively new, however, so the problem is still taking form. [/quote]
Code user base size doesn't have any effect for amount of malware in software, because the amount of malware is about code quality.
If you have perfect code, you can not write anykind malware code against it.
Now in Android case, what by the way isn't operating system but a software system what uses the Linux operating system, the problem is on trojans, what works exactly like every application is allowed to work, by the user.
The problem is like with kitchen knive, most used "weapon" in murders in most countries because it is accessible. Still, it doesn't matter is it a kitchen knife or butchers knife, because those who want to stab someone, they will find a knive.
Kitchen knive isn't used in kills because it is best or easiest to use kill someone. It is only used because someone abuses other person rights to be safe and other abuse its rights to kill the offensive person. The knife doesn't have anything to do with it, but the people have.
Wrong people, wrong reasons and problem exist.
If you have a Android application what gets permission from user to make a calls, send SMS and record virtual keyboard and full internet access, it is just stupid to allow such application to be installed and run its program in first place.
It is like invating someone to your home, gather all stuff what you have in your home and take them away. And then when they do so, you call police and you say they are thiefs.
Which one was stupid one, the house owner or the honest thief?
Most (nearly all) Android malware abuses person rights, by tricking them with fancy things so people would install their product without watching what permissions app asks.
Very few actually cracks Android security and those are the real problems.
I wish that Open Handset Alliance would improve Android by the way that none of the applications can not read anything from contact list unless user especially gives permission for specific contacts by typing personal code.
And none of the phone calls or SMS can be sent to any other number than what contact list has. So if wanted to make quick calls for taxi, user itself needs to include that number to contact list, give application permission to read that contact information and then give permission to call/sms for that number. And even give permission of amount per month.
Google will clamp down on app approval and everyone on Slashdot will cheer Google as the savior, yet these same people will hypocritically bash Apple for taking the correct approach all along.
60% of the malware they find is from a certain malware family and it steals your money. That statistic is 100% pure FUD and useless for anything. They specifically choose to include that tidbit and put it in the headline to get the 60% number out there. 60% sounds big, it catches your eye. Why didn't they put out numbers that shows how many apps they "scanned" and how many are actually infected. My guess is the number is VERY small and it would not make headlines. That would be a useful number that people could use to assess if they need to use an antivirus tool or not. Mcafee marketing ain't that stupid, if the number of actual malware out there was high, they sure as hell would be letting you know about it.
People who are stupid and cheap catch the majority of malware?! WHAT?! That's a new concept in the technology world apparently, lol.
Many of the applications I need are labeled as "not available in your country"! or falsely labeled "incompatible with your phone".
The only solution is to find a copy from elsewhere on the internet, some of which are bundled with malaware. I am not talking about pirated apps. I am talking about free apps. Many paid apps are also not available but their free counterpart is.
Opensource my ass. Android is the swiss cheese of security and not much different from the old Windows OS in that sense. Add to that that moronic reigon/country based market and you have a haven for malaware developers.
Well...
I'm on a boat with no WiFi and no admin to tether via USB. I could plug in an access point and get myself in trouble but I'd rather not. There's a similar problem when travelling in general.
I'd like to be able to go to Google Play, get the .apk, scan it online or using a PC rather than using battery power on the phone itself and transfer it across to my phone. Google make it difficult to do that.
So then we look at alternative app stores but how safe are they?
Then, finally we cave and after finding it off Google use a rapidshare link and hope for the best. Why do we give in? Well, usually it's because we are weak. But what if your phone has crashed and you really need Google Authenticator or to read some vital info encrypted with an app? That's when you realise it's good to read the docs and see just how open and accessible the method of encryption is.
A blog I run for the wealth
If the majority of people catching malware are cheap bums who wanted pirated versions and end up paying much more in background messaging, , then it's all good, as far as I'm concerned.
Some say they first try the pirated versions for any problems before buying the real ones... Here's the thing:
- most Android apps don't cost more than a cup of coffee. Pretty cheap, considering the long hours of work needed to get some type of decent software on that platform.
- at Google Play, you can try an app for 15 minutes before getting an automatic cancel of your order.
http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=134336
15 minutes is plenty of time to check if everything works as intended on your particular phone. If you discover a bug later on, you can always contact the developers who will be more than happy to make their app better on the next version.
I can't feel sorry for cheaters who get malware . Piracy is one reason (among others) why most Android developers can't make a living selling apps. It's already hard enough when you're not a big company and can't afford the advertising, and find your app on page # 120 on app search...
The phone company knows who they are paying this fraudulent payment to. If they get more than a few customers saying "I was the victim of a scam" then they should block SMS access to that company. We of course know why they won't, but they are complicit in participating in fraud.