Google bans photo editing apps which stole data or enabled phishing

Trend Micro in its latest report enlightens further about malicious applications which made way inside Google's Play Store, each one created for stealing data while coping with hurdles. The report therefore reveals that in all 29 applications that edit photos have come in notice that subsequently have been prohibited from the Play because they bear rogue intents namely executing data theft or embedding targets for making them victims of phishing.

Trend Micro's security researchers conducted an investigation that showed about the above-mentioned applications exhibiting pop-up ads fully across the screen while they had connection with explicit content even as a few did the extra of pulling down online one chargeable media player followed with diverting onto websites which phished users off their addresses and phone-numbers.

Technically, according to Trend Micro's report, the majority of the applications reached remote servers that configured advertisements so they could fulfill their objectives. One example is of the "Beauty Camera" app that went through 100,000-and-more instances of download while created one shortcut followed with concealing its entry beneath pplications tab, thereby putting hurdles for tracking else uninstalling afterwards. Moreover, the app even produced full screen rogue advertisements while installed one inactive porn player onto the victim's smart-phone so revenue was earned even as it proved useless to the end-user. www.91mobiles.com posted this, February 4, 2019.

The apps typically allowing end-users to edit their photographs as also "beautify" them uses a tactic of requiring the end-users upload onto a server their photographs, followed with subsequently making one fake prompt regarding the necessity for updating. The malicious intent hereafter is rather than give back the edited photographs, the end-users' photographs were collected to attain other objectives. After getting planted onto end-users' smart-phones, the malware as well concealed the icons not letting their visibility on Android's catalogue of apps, thus nearly preventing those end-users from locating as also uninstalling them.

It was further gathered that the applications used packers, a technique to zip files which couldn't be seen in Google's content or other security software. Play Store users should peruse the comments provided inside the application reviews for staying safe from dubious behavioral apps.

» SPAMfighter News - 2/6/2019