26 NEW Android Malware Programs Released!!!
As PPCGeek tries to protect it's users I bring you this important message for Android users. It seems that a company has found over 26 more mal-ware programs in the Android Marketplace. It is suspected of infecting over 100,000 Android users. Lookout Mobile Security made the discovery over the weekend, and believes that the rogue software was likely created by the same persons who created the ‘DroidDream’ malware that was discovered in dozens of Android apps a couple of months back.
The security firm followed tips from legitimate developers who noticed that their apps were being redistributed with modified code. This discovery lead to a new stripped-down version of the original 'DroidDream" malware, the new name is 'Droid Dream Light'
Google has been notified and has already resulted in the offending apps being withdrawn from the Market.
According to Lookout, once installed on a user’s device, the user doesn’t even have to open the apps for their device to be at risk; the code can be activated by an external triggering event, such as an incoming voice call, which then prompts the device to send data to a remote server, such as the IMEI number and information about installed programs.
Google now may be forced with using that "app kill switch" to remove it from hundreds of thousands of users devices. But considering the alternative - I would rather have it removed than have it stay on my phone spreading who knows what to where!
The list of infected apps includes:
Magic Photo Studio
- Sexy Girls: Hot Japanese
- Sexy Legs
- HOT Girls 4
- Beauty Breasts
- Sex Sound
- Sex Sound: Japanese
- HOT Girls 1
- HOT Girls 2
- HOT Girls 3
Mango Studio
- Floating Image Free
- System Monitor
- Super StopWatch and Timer
- System Info Manager
E.T. Tean
- Call End Vibrate
BeeGoo
- Quick Photo Grid
- Delete Contacts
- Quick Uninstaller
- Contact Master
- Brightness Settings
- Volume Manager
- Super Photo Enhance
- Super Color Flashlight
- Paint Master
DroidPlus
- Quick Cleaner
- Super App Manager
- Quick SMS Backup
source: neowin.net
© 2011, JasonFieldz. All rights reserved.
I was just reading about this on Neowin as you posted. Good looking out…
JasonFieldz Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 1:46 pm
@ptfdmedic,
We try to get the latest news out fastest as possible. Sometimes we win sometimes we lose…Thanks for noticing how fast we keep news flowing.
gTen Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 2:35 pm
@ptfdmedic, Hmm..from what I am reading if it uses the same exploit as DroidDream..then our Epics should theoretically be immune as it was patched by the devs…devs to the rescue
Don”t know whether or not other devices implemented the patch…
That sucks… I think my wife’s EVO Shift just got some kind of bug. Her phone keeps sending out emails to EVERY one of her contacts. I removed the mail client… Reset her password, cleared out all her trash folders, mail cache, sent, outbox and reinstalled mail client.
I put lookout and norton security on her phone.
One of those things apparently took care of the issue.
p.
Why is Google so lazy? There’s a difference between being open, and not verifying that the app ONLY does what it’s reported to do. I’d pay a couple of cents more for an APP to have reasonable assurances. The could even have a “verified” developer program that their apps are labeled indicating that they jumped through some additional hoops…
gTen Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 8:01 pm
@testacon, Those apps are probably free…IF you want a market that verifies Apps..there is Amazon Marketplace..that said you an’t have complete control as malware get access into iphone’s marketplace sometimes…
saibot Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:11 pm
@testacon, Why does google have to do it? First there’s a bit of personal responsibility. Who goes around installing everything from the market? Does Microsoft always have to save you from the internet or can you just not click on the suspicious pop up ad?
Also great opportunity for someone to have their own app which alerts you malware and then you can pay for the service that you need. Google having to check would cost them more money and then we end up with higher prices in the market. We don’t want the Apple appstore. I don’t want to pay more to protect idiots. They can get an iPhone.
gTen Reply:
June 3rd, 2011 at 7:48 am
@saibot, As I said though..iphone appstore also gets malware from time to time…no one is immune..the more popular devices become, the more there would be people trying to exploit them…
eric12341 Reply:
June 3rd, 2011 at 4:57 pm
@saibot, true but if malware is hiding in more everyday like popular apps then the OS maker has to have some kind of responsibility to make sure no one gets affected, like using warnings etc. they have a similar system in their search engine but u still get linked to a slte with malware from time to time. bing on the other hand doesn’t have such links. one shouldn’t have to pay to be able to protect themselves from this ,that’s why programs such as MSE and AVG exist, its also why internet providers are starting to bundle security software like Norton with their services.
More awesome! More open! More crap!
Meh. Yeah. Google. Have some of your code monkeys check these apps out, already.
and so now there’s more and probably more yet to be discovered.
gTen Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 7:49 am
@eric12341, Actually its exact same exploit as before…which is patched in latest version of Android…this is also the exploit we use to root phones with too…
eric12341 Reply:
June 3rd, 2011 at 4:53 pm
@gTen, so gingerbread solves everything