Infected Pokemon GO APK Carries Dangerous Android Backdoor

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Infected Pokemon GO APK Carries Dangerous Android Backdoor

Posted by msmash on Monday July 11, 2016 @06:00AM from the take-precaution dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Users eager to get their hands on the new Nintendo mobile gaming app Pokemon GO, downloading unofficial copies of the game are opening themselves up to hackers who are circulating malicious versions of the Android APK. A remote access tool (RAT), known as DroidJack (or SandroRAT), has been added to some APK files, allowing third parties to gain full control over the users' mobile devices. Permissions granted to the dodgy app include; directly calling phone numbers, reading phone status' and identities, editing and reading text messages, sending SMS messages and recording audio.The problem is that Pokemon Go is not officially available in every region, and the Google PlayStore doesn't let people in an unsupported region download the app. Also, millions of smartphones and tablets don't support many Google Mobile Services (GMS). While we do not condone downloading installation files of Android apps and games from unofficial stores, APKMirror is one of the few places that we would suggest our readers to check as it has a very commendable track record.

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GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:06 · Score: 0, Insightful

so sick of hearing about this shit and seeing all the pictures of people's "cleverly" named whatever the fuck
I hope they all get exploited and the official version starts leading people off cliffs like lemmings
1. Re:GOOD by Opportunist · 2016-07-11 06:09 · Score: 2
  
  Lemmings was on the Amiga, you couldn't carry that with you!
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
2. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:15 · Score: 0
  
  lemmings was on everything.
3. Re:GOOD by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-07-11 06:24 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  lemmings was on everything.
  Until they fell off and died a horrible death.
4. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:36 · Score: 0
  
  If you were sick of hearing about it, you'd stop reading stories about it. But you won't do that.
5. Re:GOOD by thegarbz · 2016-07-11 06:51 · Score: 1
  
  so sick of hearing about this shit and seeing all the pictures of people's "cleverly" named whatever the fuck
  I hope they all get exploited and the official version starts leading people off cliffs like lemmings
  Jeebus man, sit down, have a relaxing drink and get a massage or something before you burst a blood vessel.
6. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  I work on a college campus i can't "just ignore it" because they're fucking bumping into people, wandering into offices
  so yeah i'm a little fucking cranky about it. because its bombarding and annoying on the internet AND in real life right now.
  and the fucking parking lot today JESUS CHRIST
7. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:59 · Score: 0
  
  You have a mental-health issue. Try starting with meditation, and if that doesn't help you get a grip, see a psychiatrist about your irrational hostility, and inability to ignore things that don't interest you.
8. Re:GOOD by jeffmflanagan · 2016-07-11 07:00 · Score: 1
  
  Only if you failed the poor lemmings.
  
  Btw, the whole lemmings going off a cliff thing was a Disney hoax. At least it led to a fun game.
9. Re: GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:11 · Score: 0
  
  I have aLemmings Gameboy cartridge.
10. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:11 · Score: 0
  
  if only ignoring it was an option, but when your surrounded by people walking into you or driving around parking lots with their phones pointing out the window while they're using it as a periscope of sorts. you don't really get to just ignore that
  I'm all for letting people do whatever stupid shit they want as long as it doesnt affect my ability to do my shit
  this crosses that line into i hope they all fucking die territory
11. Re:GOOD by joerdie · 2016-07-11 07:13 · Score: 1
  
  Old man yells at cloud, "Get off my lawn!" News at 11.
12. Re:GOOD by maliqua · 2016-07-11 07:27 · Score: 1
  
  about as good an article as "sketchy download may have malware"
13. Re: GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:36 · Score: 0
  
  I have one for a Sega Game Gear
14. Re: GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:59 · Score: 0
  
  Urge to kill..... Rising!
15. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:15 · Score: 0
  
  I'm all for letting people do whatever stupid shit they want as long as it doesnt affect my ability to do my shit
  Your ability to do shit isn't affected by the trivial inconveniences you describe. The fact that you don't get anything done is entirely your fault and has nothing to do with people playing phone games. But you certainly are glad to have a new scapegoat to blame for your failures.
  
  this crosses that line into i hope they all fucking die territory
  No, I'm afraid the territory you've crossed into is actually known as "I'm a whiny little loser with no perspective or self-awareness".
16. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:26 · Score: 0
  
  You must work in an office, i work out and about and every time someone careless moron walks into my cart and makes a mess i have to clean it all up, again .
  but who fucking cares about people like me, our jobs aren't important why not just kick my shit over and say "CLEAN THAT UP AGAIN ASSHOLE"
  So fuck you, you don't get to decide what i'm allowed to be angry at or how angry is appropriate.
17. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  I work on a college campus i can't "just ignore it" because they're fucking bumping into people, wandering into offices
  so yeah i'm a little fucking cranky about it. because its bombarding and annoying on the internet AND in real life right now.
  and the fucking parking lot today JESUS CHRIST
  Would you say those damn kids should stay off your lawn?
18. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 11:02 · Score: 0
  
  Boo hoo. Someone bumped into you and you had to pick up some things. You act like that doesn't happen to literally everyone in the world, all the time. And I've definitely put in more hours on blue-collar work than you, so don't go trying to play that card unless you want to look like an even bigger candyass than you already are.
  Even if people WERE deliberately kicking over your cart, the little tantrum you're throwing here would be the petty overreaction of a spoiled child who thinks the world owes him everything. Seriously, you're wishing actual, tangible harm on people for the crime of playing the same game as someone who bumped into you. That is pathetic at every conceivable level, and you know it.
  You've obviously never had a real problem in your life. When you eventually have to deal with one, you'll grow up and look back on this little bitch-fit of yours with the sheepish embarrassment it deserves. Well, either that or you'll buckle under the pressure and just kill yourself.
  Either way, the people in your life will be relieved.
19. Re:GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 23:19 · Score: 0
  
  Lemmings going off a cliff isn't a hoax, they occasionally do that to get into the water. Lemmings are excellent swimmers and crosses fairly large lakes during their migration.
  The hoax that they can't swim was introduced by the computer game.
20. Re: GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 01:23 · Score: 0
  
  Wow. You're a sad sack of shit.
21. Re: GOOD by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-17 07:21 · Score: 0
  
  honestly though. you're going to have an aneurism, chillll
Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:06 · Score: 0

Android malware from side-loaded apps downloaded from unofficial sources? Shocker! Why is this news?
1. Re:Shocker! by maliqua · 2016-07-11 06:07 · Score: 1
  
  because pokemon go!
2. Re:Shocker! by lgw · 2016-07-11 06:17 · Score: 2
  
  The news is "The problem is that Pokemon Go is not officially available in every region". Shocking that AAA game companies still don't get the single most important fact about selling games. Seriously, WTF?
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
3. Re:Shocker! by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · 2016-07-11 06:23 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  They're doing a phased rollout because the servers are frequently overwhelmed even with the few regions they're available in.
  
  --
  "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
4. Re:Shocker! by tripleevenfall · 2016-07-11 06:24 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  My first capture as MaliciousAPK, which I evolved into BotnetDevice and IdentityTheft! It's -10 defense, but gives me 16 additional WalledGardenTaunt per turn when facing an iOS opponent!
5. Re:Shocker! by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-07-11 06:26 · Score: 0
  
  Android has no walled garden to protect users from their own stupidity.
6. Re:Shocker! by OrangeTide · 2016-07-11 06:29 · Score: 1
  
  There is malware for iOS jailbreak devices that choose to side load apps. The main difference is Android lets you go to a menu to disable the security checks while iOS requires a jailbreak.
  
  --
  “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
7. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:29 · Score: 0
  
  How about adding servers in those regions?
8. Re: Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:30 · Score: 0
  
  That... this shit is on every *pirated* app out there. It's like saying "I downloaded this illegal copy of a game and it had malware.Yikes! Must be the fault of the original publisher!"
9. Re:Shocker! by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-07-11 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  Shocking that AAA game companies still don't get the single most important fact about selling games.
  Hollywood has opened AAA movies in China first and made more money than opening in the USA a week later. If that trend continues, Hollywood will make movies that satisfies Chinese audiences first and foremost. The USA will no longer be a trendsetter.
10. Re:Shocker! by lgw · 2016-07-11 06:35 · Score: 1
  
  Just rent 3x the servers for launch week. There's a whole "cloud" of such servers available. But perhaps innovations from the past 10 years are too new for AAA games.
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
11. Re: Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:39 · Score: 0
  
  Another way to say "We outsourced our test management to India". Or even better, the execs thought QA/testing is pointless.
  I can find notable issues from pretty much every software I use, and yes I'm a dickhead test manager. My favorite pasttime at work is toying around with incompetent Indian software suppliers and also our management who keep asking what the fuck is taking so long with the project (answer: your shortsightedness). :-)
12. Re:Shocker! by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-07-11 06:42 · Score: 2
  
  The main difference is Android lets you go to a menu to disable the security checks while iOS requires a jailbreak.
  I stand corrected. Stupidity is optional but not mandatory on Android. ;)
13. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:48 · Score: 0
  
  We should be talking about Google's new initiative to train 2,000,000 Indians on Android development. Why does Google hate white people so much?
14. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Are you also going to rent 3x the support staff for a week?
  Or maybe they just don't like to run their brand new intellectual property on someone else's servers, without an airtight contract, liability for the cloud company, the possibility to audit the provider, etc, etc?
15. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:04 · Score: 0
  
  Like Kung Fu Panda?
16. Re:Shocker! by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-07-11 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  Like Kung Fu Panda?
  https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2016/jun/14/hollywood-films-in-china-asia-market-warcraft-the-beginning
17. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:43 · Score: 0
  
  Also because the development team considers localization last, for good reason. Games in development tend to futz around localized strings because the developers are typing up the game dialog. There isn't dedicated staff to handle user interface language or translation and you wouldn't want to expose them to the constant changing of dialog during development anyway. Once the product becomes successful THEN you consider adding a localization team.
  Alternatively you can offer your English/Japanese version to all territories with the caveat "you probably won't be able to read this".
18. Re:Shocker! by lgw · 2016-07-11 07:53 · Score: 1
  
  Are you also going to rent 3x the support staff for a week?
  You're not going to have more support issues by provisioning adequate capacity.
  
  Or maybe they just don't like to run their brand new intellectual property on someone else's servers, without an airtight contract, liability for the cloud company, the possibility to audit the provider, etc, etc?
  Almost everyone new runs mostly on the cloud these days. Neither Amazon nor Microsoft is going to steal your IP. The whole point of the cloud is to make it trivial to provision large amounts of capacity, temporarily if needed.
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
19. Re:Shocker! by Miamicanes · 2016-07-11 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  Nintendo is fucking AWFUL at handling asymmetric demand & semi-intentionally uses it as a way to create artificial scarcity.
  True story: I was ready to buy a Wii on release day. Except they sold out nationwide in about 5 minutes. The same thing happened about a month later when the next shipment arrived. The buzz wore off. Fast forward 6 months... upcoming holiday with plenty of time to play with my new toy... except they were sold out. Again. The last straw was when they were sold out... AGAIN... the next time I had a long weekend coming up... almost TWO GODDAMN YEARS after the Wii's release. I finally ended up buying one last year for a pittance at a garage sale, but by that point the magic was gone & I think I might have actually used it for a total of two hours over the next month before getting bored of it.
  When the Wii-U came out, I was so soured by my Wii purchasing experience, I mentally wrote it off because I wasn't about to subject myself to the same cycle of anticipation and disappointment all over again. A month or so later, it was obvious that the Wii-U wasn't selling out anywhere anytime soon, but by THEN its truly underwhelming specs (and price that was made pointlessly and stupidly high by the damn tablet controller with mediocre touchscreen it needed) just kind of made it seem like a sick joke.
  The point is, I can understand them being sold out on release day. I can even stomach them being sold out after a month. But the fact that the Wii was STILL having routine shortages more than a goddamn year after release made them lose me as a first sale, and the memory of it made them lose me as a Wii-U first sale, too. Yeah, I'll probably buy a Wii-U at a garage sale for $99 eventually, but Nintendo won't make any money off of it because I'll basically be rescuing somebody's old console from a landfill.
  I wish to ${deity} that non-Nintendo platforms had games like Pikmin and Chibi Robo, instead of just seemingly-endless dystopian urban-warfare FPS games.
20. Re: Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:44 · Score: 0
  
  3 words: publicly traded company
21. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:52 · Score: 0
  
  Why would you even bother with side loading this outside a supported region? As far as i know there is no way to use it outside supported regions due to the geo location nature of the game. Have a friend who had loaded it, then just went on a trip to Puerto Rico and posting on FaceBook that they cant play the game there
22. Re:Shocker! by Miamicanes · 2016-07-11 09:21 · Score: 1
  
  I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't started making AAA movies filmed with two different casts... one with Mandarin-speaking actors, and one English-speaking actors (but otherwise sharing plot, CGI, sets, costume design, etc). Kind of like how American studios license and remake popular shows from Britain, but doing it right from the start so that both variants of the movie can share in the other's economies of scale and production costs.
  Why? Because dubbing sucks, and subtitles suck even more. Just because people have historically tolerated them doesn't mean they actually LIKE them.
  That said, 99% of my objection (as an American) to dubbing is the fact that they always seem to pick implausible voice actors to DO the dubbing. If I'm watching a movie that was clearly filmed in France, with French actors, and action that occurs in France, I fully EXPECT the English dub to have a "Hollywood French Accent". Ditto for movies set in Germany, Japan, etc. Logically, it MAKES SENSE that foreigners who are nevertheless speaking English would have an accent from wherever they're seemingly from. Dubbing them with voice actors who sound like they're from California or Ohio breaks the illusion and ruins it.
23. Re:Shocker! by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-07-11 09:35 · Score: 1
  
  Because dubbing sucks, and subtitles suck even more.
  I love Japanese anime because the dubbing and subtitles can vary widely in meaning. One character in "The Ghost in The Shell" describes the major as "tough broad" in audio but the subtitle says "dyke". Makes me wonder how Scarlet Johansson will play the major in the live action movie.
24. Re: Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 10:02 · Score: 0
  
  Never seen a AAA or even a BBB game translated to Lithuanian, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch or similar. It's always in English, then just *maybe* in Spanish, German and/or French. So I don't really buy into your argument since translations are so few anyway.
25. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 09:52 · Score: 0
  
  But American versions of British TV shows are universally crap, terrible, beyond saving, and embarrassment to everyone involved.
26. Re:Shocker! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 10:11 · Score: 0
  
  because they met you
Gotta catch'em all by rodrigoandrade · 2016-07-11 06:16 · Score: 2

Can't wait to see kids running around the slums, whore houses, drug dens, and all kinds of shitholes looking for stupid pokemons.

Kids + geocahing: what could possibly go wrong?
1. Re:Gotta catch'em all by lgw · 2016-07-11 06:19 · Score: 2
  
  Can't wait to see kids running around the slums, whore houses, drug dens, and all kinds of shitholes looking for stupid pokemons.
  I've been amused by considering the special Pokemon you can only catch in the sewers, or on the grounds of a nuclear power station, or on a military base, or in a burning building, or on a construction site. But sure, crack houses are fun too.
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
2. Re:Gotta catch'em all by tripleevenfall · 2016-07-11 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  Blinky FTW!
3. Re: Gotta catch'em all by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:03 · Score: 0
  
  [Citation Needed]
4. Re:Gotta catch'em all by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:18 · Score: 0
  
  Its a plot to take Pearl Harbor again.
5. Re:Gotta catch'em all by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:50 · Score: 0
  
  I can't wait until people start getting arrested for trespassing, or wind up in the hospital and start cranking out the lawsuits. I was having dinner last night on the patio of a restaurant. Nextdoor to the restaurant is a recording studio that's apparently a "pokemon gym." The whole 2 hours I was on the patio, cars were parking across the street, people running across traffic to do whatever they do at a pokemon gym, then darting back through traffic. Many of these folks were paying no attention whatsoever to the traffic, eyes glued to their phones, lots of them were kids. This is going to turn out badly for a lot of people, I can't believe there aren't stories yet of people getting hit by cars playing this thing.
  Who in the world thought it was a good idea to create a game that involves walking in and around all manner of potentially dangerous places while looking down at your phone?
6. Re: Gotta catch'em all by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 09:31 · Score: 0
  
  Millions of people have already been doing that whilst playing Ingress (Niantic's first location-based game), which has been out for nearly four years now. I've heard of only one death as a direct result (a guy fell off a pier at night in a storm), but it turned out most people take more care than you think when playing.
We already know by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:18 · Score: 4, Funny

That apk and his infected host file is dangerous
1. Re:We already know by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-14 00:22 · Score: 0
  
  I checked on this summary hoping to see this pun and Slashdot, you did not disappoint.
And on iOS, you compromise your Google account by _xeno_ · 2016-07-11 06:25 · Score: 2, Interesting

Also worth mentioning that if you log in to the game via your Google Account under iOS, Niantic gets "full access" to your Google account.
Meaning that they can do things like:
1. Read your email.
2. Send email as you.
3. View photos you've uploaded.
4. View your Google+ Profile (OK, no one cares about this).
5. Delete documents from your Google Drive.
In fact, Google lists only three things it can't do: Change your password, delete your account, or authorize payments via Google Wallet. And that's it.
This doesn't apply under Android for some reason, it's limited solely to iOS.

--
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
1. Re: And on iOS, you compromise your Google account by literaldeluxe · 2016-07-11 06:37 · Score: 2
  
  Niantic, the creators, are an Alphabet company. They already have your info.
  They *were* an Alphabet company. They were spun off in 2015.
2. Re: And on iOS, you compromise your Google account by _xeno_ · 2016-07-11 06:39 · Score: 2
  
  No, they aren't, they're entirely independent of Google and have been for the past year. They aren't part of Alphabet. They have no reason to have "complete access" to your Google account, and clearly don't need it because they don't get it if you log in via Android.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
3. Re:And on iOS, you compromise your Google account by xvan · 2016-07-11 09:14 · Score: 1
  
  It's strange, under Android I was never prompted for any 0Auth validation after choosing to sign in with google. This never happened before, is there a new api for that?
4. Re:And on iOS, you compromise your Google account by _xeno_ · 2016-07-11 09:47 · Score: 1
  
  Beats me, I haven't tried the app yet, I was basing my post on this Ars Technica article.
  The comments are suggesting that this issue exists for some Android users as well, but not all.
  But, yeah, apparently it skips the part where it asks for permissions (sometimes, always for iOS?) and just gives Niantic full control of your Google account.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Ugh, the "regions" thing again by magarity · 2016-07-11 06:26 · Score: 1

First the movie studios and their region by region availability but now a video game? Is there some actual reason why a video game of all things isn't availble just anywhere?
1. Re:Ugh, the "regions" thing again by OrangeTide · 2016-07-11 06:32 · Score: 1
  
  Books and records (now CDs) had probably had regional distribution rights before movies. (given that movies used to only be shown and theaters and not something an average person could purchase)
  
  --
  “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
2. Re:Ugh, the "regions" thing again by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:33 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Server load.
  Seriously: http://uk.businessinsider.com/pokemon-go-international-rollout-paused-2016-7 Pokemon Go has been vastly more successful than they had prepared for. Server crashes have been pretty frequent, even with the 'limited' release.
What about the pedophiles? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:30 · Score: 0

Isn't it strange that none of the Nintendo and tech friendly / sycophantic media outlets have mentioned this fad is being used to lure kids to certain areas. Parents are unlikely to catch on until way too late. It's about time people are warned about the sick fuckers using this as a tool.
1. Re:What about the pedophiles? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:56 · Score: 0
  
  Pedobear is way ahead of you.
SandroRAT? by Yvan256 · 2016-07-11 06:31 · Score: 2

SandroRAT does sound like a Pokémon name. Seems legit.
Pokemon Bug Removes $7.5B From Nintendo Market Val by tomxor · 2016-07-11 06:31 · Score: 1

"Pokemon Bug Removes $7.5B From Nintendo Market Val"
FTFY :P
Re:I hope someone gets killed from Playing Pokemon by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:32 · Score: 0

Already happened.
pirated game contains virus by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:35 · Score: 0

news at 11
iOS FTW! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:47 · Score: 0

nm
I'm in Canada and using an APK file by iONiUM · 2016-07-11 06:47 · Score: 4, Interesting

I downloaded the APK from apkmirror which I trust: http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/n....
Furthermore, I'm running Android Marshmallow and it allows you to grant or deny specific privileges to each app. This app asked for 4 permissions: contact list, camera, location and storage. This is how you know it's "authentic".
If it's asking for more than that (i.e. microphone), you've got a malware ridden copy.
1. Re:I'm in Canada and using an APK file by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:35 · Score: 0
  
  The one I got from the play store asked for the same permissions. I was like wtf does it need access into my contact info?! Camera is for the AR mode, location is for the GPS, and storage is so it can store pictures you take of the pokemon.
  All are legit except contacts.
2. Re:I'm in Canada and using an APK file by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 09:57 · Score: 0
  
  I haven't played the game, but I believe you can battle other people. So perhaps it helps identify friends that have it and names them for battle?
3. Re:I'm in Canada and using an APK file by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 11:30 · Score: 0
  
  If you have a rooted phone and you sideload the malware then the privilege system is trivially bypassed. The app need not tell you what permissions it is really using.
4. Re:I'm in Canada and using an APK file by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 11:34 · Score: 1
  
  For 0.29.0,
  md5: 2580d2687af1ffaaec16ff3b48380f76
  sha256: 8bf2b0865bef06906cd854492dece202482c04ce9c5e881e02d2b6235661ab67
Re:It's a curse for You not a plush dildo by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:48 · Score: 0

12/10 post, would read again.
If you already installed it... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 06:48 · Score: 1

If you installed it from APK Mirror already, Proofpoint said that the SHA-256 for the one they believe to be clean is : 8bf2b0865bef06906cd854492dece202482c04ce9c5e881e02d2b6235661ab67
The infected one has a hash of: 15db22fd7d961f4d4bd96052024d353b3ff4bd135835d2644d94d74c925af3c4
1. Re:If you already installed it... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 09:10 · Score: 0
  
  For further confirmation, it should only require contacts, camera, storage and localization permissions.
Actual news for nerds by watermark · 2016-07-11 07:09 · Score: 2

I'm not sure it gets any more "news for nerds" than this
1. Re:Actual news for nerds by BionicGecko · 2016-07-11 19:28 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not sure it gets any more "news for nerds" than this
  Well, I would rather say "business as usual for nerds"...
2. Re: Actual news for nerds by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 23:39 · Score: 0
  
  Pokemon GO is for nerds in the same way Facebook is for nerds.
Re:I hope someone gets killed from Playing Pokemon by joerdie · 2016-07-11 07:15 · Score: 1

What's it feel like to be a horrible turd of a human being? Do you gather some sort of strength from it?
Re:I hope someone gets killed from Playing Pokemon by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 07:52 · Score: 0

It worked for like . . . 99% of the characters in Dragonball/Dragonball Z. It's about time people started to get ripped from being assholes. At least then you'd know who are the real assholes.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! by Thud457 · 2016-07-11 08:00 · Score: 2

I heard if you go into the alley on 34th street at 11PM, you can find a wild MISSINGNO who will kill you and rob you of your smartphone.

--
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
So...how to detect? by argStyopa · 2016-07-11 08:10 · Score: 1

OK, I know several people with android phones who've had to go to unusual lengths to get it running. I'm fortunate, in that I have an antiquated (?) S3, so it won't run anyway.
But what methods could they use to determine if they have this?

--
-Styopa
Who is we? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:24 · Score: 0

The problem is that Pokemon Go is not officially available in every region, and the Google PlayStore doesn't let people in an unsupported region download the app. Also, millions of smartphones and tablets don't support many Google Mobile Services (GMS). While we do not condone downloading installation files of Android apps and games from unofficial stores, APKMirror is one of the few places that we would suggest our readers to check as it has a very commendable track record.

Captcha: counsels
What is that by irbeginner · 2016-07-11 08:25 · Score: 1

This apk infects your pokemon with pokÃ©rus so they power up faster. Download while it lasts folks.
But.... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 08:33 · Score: 0

Does it give you unlimited pokeballs and GPS spoofing? That's really the determining factor here.
ESP does not exist by s.petry · 2016-07-11 08:41 · Score: 1

Nintendo is rolling this out to scale, and scaling as they go. We used to call this smart and profitable tactics in business. Your instant gratification does not matter to a company that goes out of business spending money they don't have on resources.
Stop pretending you are smarter than everyone else and have great ESP. If you had great ESP you would not be posting on Slashdot. Or perhaps you would, but it would be smarter.

--
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
1. Re:ESP does not exist by lgw · 2016-07-11 09:33 · Score: 1
  
  Customer satisfaction is an important goal for any company, but Nintendo especially. High server load for a game during "launch week" requires no ESP - it's entirely predictable. You don't want to build out to a scale that handles launch week load and keep paying for that forever - it can be triple your ongoing load.
  If you have an "internal cloud", then you can do this all in your datacenter: provision a ton of capacity, then release it back to your pool for the next game to use. That can be economical. If you don't, then you can borrow capacity from one of the big cloud providers, just pay by the hour until you don't need it.
  I do this sort of dynamic provisioning using the cloud for a living these days. It's really not that hard, if your service was built for scale to begin with, and it's quite inexpensive compared to buying servers that will be idle for a year until the next major expansion or whatever.
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
gotta catch 'em all? by Hognoxious · 2016-07-11 08:56 · Score: 1

Gonna catch something!

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
CONFLATED TERMINOLOGY by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 11:19 · Score: 0

Android backdoors are not dangerous. Dangerous. Dangerous. Dangerous.
OH NO the Android back doors :O
Google itself being part of the American government surveillance money pit is the real story. Google is a backdoor, they just say don't call themselves backdoors. This goes for their search engines, their operating systems Android and Chrome, and anywhere that phones home to gstatic and google-analytics.
1. Re:CONFLATED TERMINOLOGY by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 11:21 · Score: 0
  
  Don't forget Google gets a lot of other info like your finances, has your emails with transactions if you use Gmail, etc.
  YouTube accounts tell a lot about you as well. What you post, what you comment on. Anonymous Coward for the win.
2. Re:CONFLATED TERMINOLOGY by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 11:24 · Score: 0
  
  Mod this down quick before somebody finds out!!1
NO! - "The problem is that Pokemon Go.." by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 12:05 · Score: 0

@OP but what a wanker. The problem is not regionality, Nintendo nor even Google. Those, at worst, are an inconvenience.
The problem is the USER, totally and 100%. The OP seems to want to equivocate the immediateness of the user-base with the ability of Google, Nintendo, et-al to fix the 'problem'. I really wonder if s/he is of the immediate-gratification generation that sees the simple act of wanting something as entirely innocent whilst any cost for said want is someone else's 'problem'...
To quote Mr White: you can't fix stupid....
why dont you just go play pokaman already? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 12:49 · Score: 0

you autistic piece of shit
1. Re:why dont you just go play pokaman already? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 07:24 · Score: 0
  
  Because I don't play that game.
  And I'm not the one acting autistic.
Re:I hope someone gets killed from Playing Pokemon by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-11 13:01 · Score: 0

certainly gathers less embarrassment than staring at some infantile cartoon on your Chinafone
Why is this a story? by JohnStock · 2016-07-11 21:36 · Score: 1

"Illegal copy of software has a virus".. Oh what a surprise. Is this just a poor attempt to have a dig at Android?
sdinasindsianf by pokemongo · 2016-07-12 01:07 · Score: 1

dsjafdifasindsainsdin
For people who really need it by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 05:50 · Score: 0

I'm pretty sure the version on XDA Labs is clean
Come on guys: It's there to help... apk by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 07:50 · Score: 0

See subject: Gratis + because it works doing far more from 1 single native file you have for FAR less & it's not "infected": Fact is, it stops you from being infected by bogus online machinations of most ALL kinds!
(It's there to help - the internet today DEFINITELY needs efforts of people like us, along w/ the efforts of the security community folks that yield its data for that).
* Doing my best - I have the ability to do so, so why not? I think it's your DUTY as a human being to do so when you're able to...
(Call it a "pay it forward" on my end).
APK
P.S.=> I appreciate humor, but I'm not there to harm anyone...
As the great Charlie Chaplin said in his "The Great Dictator" speech++?
"I would like to help everyone if possible..." per https://www.youtube.com/watch?... that opening line from it (listen to it, it's inspiring) - the program's my current contribution ... apk
Just got v0.29.2 and safe now. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-07-12 21:47 · Score: 0

Just download pokemon go v0.29.2 from apkpure. It is safe and love the game. Make me like to do exercises.