Collaborate Disseminate
Google has banned nearly 600 Android apps from the Play Store for bombarding users with disruptive ads and violating its advertising guidelines.
The company categorizes disruptive ads as “ads that are displayed to users in unexpected ways, including i… Continue reading Google Bans 600 Android Apps from Play Store for Serving Disruptive Ads
Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are partnering on a new integrated mobile store for Android that can replace the Google Play Store.
The post Report: Chinese Tech Giants to Take on Google Play Store appeared first on Thurrott.com.
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The malware-infected apps used to harvest data and sign users up to premium services have been downloaded more than 382 million times. Continue reading Android pulls 24 ‘dangerous’ malware-filled apps from Play Store
A sneaky network of more than 100 Android applications is allowing fraudsters to make money by pushing pervasive advertisements to users’ devices, according to new cybersecurity findings. The device owners aren’t the real victims, even though they’re being exploited. The constant stream of ads, some miniscule and others loud and inescapable, are leveraging victims’ phones as conduits for scammers to rip off companies’ marketing dollars. More than 100 applications with some 4.6 million downloads from the Google Play Store include malicious code that enables the bogus advertising network, according to research published Thursday by the bot detection firm White Ops. Android subscribers who downloaded these apps, some of which still existed on the Play Store at press time, believed they were installing programs that would predict their fortune, play games, take selfies or remove bugs. But the apps also abused their access to inundate the devices with advertisements that could be tracked but often couldn’t be […]
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Continue reading Scammers are using Play Store apps to serve ads that nobody can escape
Google announced Wednesday it would work with multiple cybersecurity companies to better secure the Google Play Store, which hackers have repeatedly used to distribute malicious software. Google’s decision to collaborate with ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium is an acknowledgement of the challenges of securing the Play Store and the countless devices that interact with it. Each company has distinguished itself by releasing research detailing how hackers are using mobile apps to spread nefarious code. Google will integrate its Google Play malware detection systems with each of those companies’ anti-virus scanning engines. That will allow the companies to do an extra layer of vetting before an app appears in the Play Store. In announcing the App Defense Alliance, as the partnership is known, Google acknowledged that the current processes for reporting malicious apps in and out of the Play Store “aren’t designed to scale.” With over 2.5 billion Android devices in use, the scale […]
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Google has patched an Android bug that could have allowed attackers to use NFC to send over a malicious file to the victim’s phone
Continue reading Google patches bug that let nearby hackers send malware to your phone
SophosLabs has discovered 15 apps on Google Play that install without icons as a ploy to keep themselves on the user’s device. Continue reading Some Android adware apps hide icons to make it hard to remove them
Security researchers on Thursday detailed an ongoing hacking campaign against Egyptian human rights activists and journalists, showing how the attackers have planted their own malware in the Google Play Store to track their victims. An analysis of the hacking campaign by Check Point Software Technologies highlights how the hackers have not only used third-party apps to gain access to victim emails but also employed stealthy mobile apps that log the date and duration of calls, or the location of the caller. Evidence suggests the Egyptian government could be behind the activity, which dates back to 2016 and is more multifaceted than previously documented. If definitively tied to Egyptian authorities, it would be just the latest example of an autocratic regime aiming software tools at activists and critics. Under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian government has cracked down further on dissent, jailing activists and, NGOs say, abusing human rights. “We saw [the […]
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Continue reading An ongoing hacking campaign targets dissidents in Egypt, researchers say
SophosLabs researchers discovered at least 15 apps with millions of downloads charging extraordinary prices right under the Google’s nose. Continue reading ‘Fleeceware’ Play store apps quietly charging up to $250
Google today announced Google Play Pass, a new subscription service with 350 completely unlocked apps and games.
The post Google Launches Play Pass Subscription appeared first on Thurrott.com.
Continue reading Google Launches Play Pass Subscription