From Huawei to Samsung, Android smartphones are some of the most popular handheld devices around the world.
But if you use an Android device, you may want to reassess which apps you have installed.
Experts from the White Ops Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team have warned about 240 dangerous apps that can bombard your smartphone with fraudulent ads (scroll down for the full list).
In a blog about the findings, the researchers said: “These apps make it appear that ads are actually coming from popular applications and social media platforms including Youtube and Chrome.”
During the investigation, dubbed ‘RAINBOWMIX’, the researchers discovered that the apps had been downloaded a whopping 14 million times.
They explained: “At first glance, RAINBOWMIX apps seem to work as advertised, although their quality likely leaves users wanting.
“They are often nothing more than Nintendo (NES) emulators ripped from legitimate sources or low quality games.”
Google has removed a few apps between July and September from Play Store since these were infected by Joker malware. These apps are found to be involved in spreading spyware, malware, or other harmful software. This malware is difficult to detect since it uses a technique called ‘Dropper’ to bypass Google’s security scan and sneak into the user’s device. California-based cybersecurity firm Zscaler discovered these infected apps.
The malware steals the money from users’ accounts by subscribing them to the unwanted premium paid subscriptions without their consent. Such a user may not be aware that he has been signed up for a paid subscription service and the money has been deducted from his account.
“Many of these samples appear to be designed specifically to attempt to slip into the Play Store undetected and are
Google has confirmed that it’s removed 17 more Android apps from its Play Store, but that doesn’t mean all smartphone users can breath a sigh of relief. The banned applications were found to be filled with the dangerous “Joker” malware, which is capable of stealing SMS messages, entire contact lists, and device information as well as silently signing-up the victim for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services.
WAP services can leave users with a nasty bill as it’s a mechanism to buy content from sites that is then charged directly to a mobile bill.
The offending apps were discovered by the team at Zsclaer. If you have any of them (listed below) on your device you need to delete them right now.
In a post on its blog, Zsclaer’s Viral Gandhi said: “Our Zscaler ThreatLabZ research team has been constantly monitoring the Joker malware. Recently, we have seen regular uploads
Here’s how to delete your private data — for good.<br> (iStock)
Moving a file to the trash on your PC or Mac gets rid of it for good, right? Not so fast.
These files can be seen by others later, and they could be slowing down your machine. Tap or click for my favorite tricks to speed up an older computer.
The contents of your PC’s Recycle Bin or Mac’s Trash Can are only cleared out when you empty them. Until then, there’s a treasure trove of files for someone to snoop through. Worried someone is keeping track of what you do on your computer? Tap or click here for ways to do your own digital sleuthing.
If you haven’t correctly shredded private documents, they can still be found later on down the road — even if you clear your trash can. All it takes is a little know-how to
Amazon has been working to improve privacy for Alexa, especially after a controversy about human reviewers last year.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
Amazon appears to be making good on its effort to keep tightening privacy for its Alexa-powered devices, even after the hot-button issue has cooled down this year.
The most notable change is a new option to automatically delete your voice recordings immediately after they are processed by Alexa. A written transcript of these recordings will still be available for 30 days but can be deleted anytime you want.
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This feature, which is available starting Thursday, builds on Amazon’s other auto-delete functions, which let a customer delete Alexa voice recordings on a rolling three-month or 18-month basis. Both those options were announced at Amazon’s launch event last year.
Epic Games warned that iPhone users who update to the new iOS 14 may accidentally remove Fortnite from their phones entirely.
According to the Fortnite Status Twitter account, iOS 14 sometimes prompts users with a “Temporarily Remove Apps to Install the Software Update?” message if they don’t have enough free space for the update. Since Fortnite is no longer available on iPhone due to Epic and Apple’s legal dispute, once the app is removed, there’s no way to reinstall it.
Fortnite iOS players updating to iOS 14 may lose access to Fortnite. If the message “Temporarily Remove Apps to Install the Software Update?” is accepted, it may result in Fortnite being deleted. Fortnite cannot later be reinstalled due to Apple preventing users from doing so.
(Reuters) – U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp <CVX.N> has asked employees globally to delete Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat from their work phones, following the Trump administration’s executive order to ban the social media app, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
A U.S. judge on Sunday blocked a government order requiring Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and Alphabet Inc’s Google <GOOGL.O> to remove WeChat for downloads on national security grounds.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it would challenge the order.
WeChat is an all-in-one mobile app that combines messaging, social media, payment functions and other services and boasts more than a billion users globally.
Chevron, in a staff email, identified WeChat as a “non-compliant application” and asked those with the app on their work handsets to delete it before Sept. 27 or face disconnection from the company’s network, according to the Bloomberg report.
Chevron and Tencent, which has denied its apps pose
(Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp. has asked its global employees to remove Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat from their work phones, making it one of the first U.S. companies to heed the Trump administration’s executive order banning the Chinese social app on alleged national security risks.
The American oil giant identified WeChat as a “non-compliant application” in a staff email, asking those who installed the app on their work handsets to delete it within days — or they will be disconnected from the
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![a screenshot of a cellphone: The Tencent Holdings Ltd. WeChat app is displayed in the App Store on a smartphone in an arranged photograph taken in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing business with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps beginning 45 days from now, citing the national security risk of leaving Americans' personal data exposed.](https://www.msn.com/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"53","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19kzaC.img?h=533&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19kzaC.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19kzaC.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"}})