|
Home > News > Tags > mobile malware
|
|
30
Stories about: mobile malware |
|
|
Experts have come across a couple of fake Facebook dating apps that apparently don’t cause any damage to users who install them, but they can clearly be used in malicious operations.
The apps are not made up by the cybercrooks. Instead, they took the Romanian and Spanish versions of an app called “Girlfr... |
21 May 2012
10:44 GMT |
 |
|
“Security Brief” continues with some of the most important events and incidents that marked the week between May 14 and May 20, 2012.
Many security companies detailed their findings as far as mobile malware is concerned. We‘ve seen that shady Android markets are showing up everywhere in the world,... |
20 May 2012
03:11 GMT |
|
|
Google Play customers should be on the lookout for applications infected with the Android.Opfake malware. The apps it hides in are advertised as being free, but those who download them can end up paying large amounts of money for their carelessness.
The Opfake malware particularly targets Russian users, sending SMS... |
18 May 2012
03:39 GMT |
|
|
The large number of malicious websites designed to infect Android devices with the well-known Android:FakeInst SMS Trojan have made Avast security experts issue another warning to alert users of its presence. They also advise smartphone owners to beware of shady-looking alternative Android app markets.
Research... |
14 May 2012
08:15 GMT |
|
|
The owners of devices that run an Android operating system are advised to be on the lookout for a shady website that offers a fake Adobe Flash Player app. Security researchers found that the application hides a piece of malware called AndroidOS_Boxer.A.
Trend Micro experts identified the malicious element on a Russi... |
11 May 2012
04:43 GMT |
|
|
Looking for Love SMS, Jokes, SMS Senders, Video Convertors, Antiviruses or Send Free SMS applications on Google Play? Then beware, because there’s a shady developer which has published more than 15 apps that maliciously redirect users to a suspicious-looking website.
AegisLab experts reveal that a developer na... |
8 May 2012
09:51 GMT |
|
|
The NotCompatible Android Trojan identified a few days ago by Lookout is apparently used by cybercriminals to make fraudulent purchases via the devices they infect.
The researchers note that the Trojan still only acts as a proxy, allowing its masterminds to use it with the purpose of making their transactions legiti... |
5 May 2012
05:40 GMT |
|
|
Trend Micro experts report that even though Google has removed a lot of apps from the Google Play site, there are still at least 17 malicious ones that either annoy users with advertisements, or they simply contain a dangerous piece of malware.
Out of the 17 applications, 10 have been found to use AirPush to serve a... |
4 May 2012
09:58 GMT |
|
|
It’s not uncommon for websites to be compromised by cybercriminals who set them up to serve malware drive-by downloads to unsuspecting visitors. However, experts have found that now not only PC users are targeted, but also those who surf the web from their Android devices.
Researchers from the mobile security ... |
3 May 2012
06:40 GMT |
|
|
Symantec released its Internet Security Threat Report in which it details the elements that left a mark on the cyber security landscape of 2011.
If we look at each month individually, we see that May was the busiest month of 2011. That is when scripting attacks that generated Facebook invites were first launched, ma... |
1 May 2012
10:47 GMT |
|
|
AVG Technologies released its Community Powered Threat Report for the first quarter of 2012. One of the most interesting parts of the study reveals that social media networks have become great mediums for cybercriminals to push their pieces of malware onto mobile devices.
“We detected a big increase in the use... |
30 April 2012
10:43 GMT |
|
|
At the beginning of April, security researchers found that a number of shady Chinese Android stores were pushing apps that masked a piece of malware called TigerBot (ANDROIDOS_TIGERBOT.EVL).
Also known as Spyera, the malicious element was analyzed by Trend Micro experts. They discovered that the malware was controll... |
30 April 2012
08:04 GMT |
|
|
Rockstar Games celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Grand Theft Auto back in October 2011. The celebration has passed, but cybercriminals still rely on it to promote their malicious Android applications. GFI researchers have come across an Android app called “GTA 10th Anniversary Edition” which is desig... |
30 April 2012
05:46 GMT |
|
|
Once again Google Play, the search engine company’s official Android market, has been found to be infested with rogue applications. Experts have found shady Legend of Zelda and Counter Terrorism games that were designed to push advertisements. Sophos researchers determined that once the games are installed, a ... |
26 April 2012
13:21 GMT |
|
|
Trend Micro released its quarterly report for the first part of 2012 and it turns out that this year cybercriminals have focused their efforts mostly on schemes that target mobile device owners, particularly Android users.
While 2011 was considered the year of the hacktivists, 2012 may be the year of mobile malware.... |
19 April 2012
05:41 GMT |
|
|
Ever since Facebook purchased Instagram, the photo-sharing application’s popularity has increased considerably. As we said on past occasions, an app’s growing popularity makes cybercriminals focus their attention on it to launch malevolent schemes. Security researchers from Trend Micro found a website th... |
18 April 2012
06:02 GMT |
|
|
A number of 29 Android applications found on Google Play (the new Android Market) were appointed as being malicious by Symantec. The pieces of malware, identified as Android.Dougalek, pretend to be popular games or games-related videos.
First discovered in February, the malicious elements were advertised as recipe a... |
16 April 2012
08:50 GMT |
|
|
Experts have found that the main command and control (C&C) server that was used by cybercriminals to host the piece of malware known as GoldDream is still active.
Back in July 2011, malware analysts studied the Android Trojan that was designed to send SMS messages, place phone calls, install applications and even up... |
12 April 2012
08:41 GMT |
|
|
Unofficial Android app stores have been found to serve a malicious variant of the popular Angry Birds Space game.
Identified by Sophos as Andr/KongFu-L, the application seems to be legitimate at first glance, but once it’s installed on a device, it leverages the GingerBreak exploit to gain root access and inst... |
12 April 2012
08:15 GMT |
|
|
Users of the popular photo-sharing app Instagram may be presented with a shady comment that claims Instagram and Best Buy have teamed up to give away free $100 (75 EUR) gift cards.
Symantec experts came across one of these scams and determined that the crooks that launched them have put a great effort into making ev... |
5 April 2012
09:14 GMT |
|
|
Lookout researchers came across a new variant of the piece of malware known as Legacy Native, or LeNa. The latest version uses the GingerBreak exploit to gain root access to a device without any user interaction.
While previous variations of LeNa had to rely on the SU utility and some user interaction in order to g... |
5 April 2012
08:32 GMT |
|
|
Researchers warn that even though companies that offer virtual wallets for mobile phones are putting great efforts into ensuring that they’re secure, there are still some flaws that make these money bags a tempting target for thieves.
McAfee’ Mobile Security Researcher Jimmy Shah informs that organizatio... |
4 April 2012
05:37 GMT |
|
|
The popularity of “The Roar of the Pharaoh,” a legitimate Chinese game, is leveraged by cybercriminals to spread a malicious SMS-sending Trojan. Sophos experts report that the game is not hosted on Google Play, but a Trojan-infested variant has been seen on other sites that provide Android applications. ... |
29 March 2012
08:37 GMT |
|
|
Google Play has only been recently launched to replace the Android Market and as it turns out, cybercriminals are not wasting any time. Security researchers identified a number of newly created Russian domains that hosted Google Play-lookalike sites that served malicious applications. Trend Micro experts found that ... |
16 March 2012
09:17 GMT |
|
|
While looking at the profile of a Facebook member from his Android smartphone, a Sophos researcher found himself being automatically redirected to a site which served a malicious file designed to earn cybercrooks money by signing the user up for premium rate phone services. The piece of malware uses a class name ass... |
24 February 2012
12:13 GMT |
|
|
Security solutions provider McAfee released its Fourth Quarter 2011 report to reveal the details of the threat landscape that targeted computing devices in the last months of the year that passed.
The figures show that there were more than 75 million unique malware samples, this being the number that the company es... |
23 February 2012
03:20 GMT |
|
|
Researchers came across a server located in Germany that hosts numerous websites ready to serve mobile malware that targets Android and Symbian users.
Trend Micro experts found a total of 1,351 sites hosted on the server in question, all the websites falling into a certain category. They identified Android Market ap... |
7 February 2012
07:46 GMT |
|
|
Security researchers are coming across a large number of pieces of malware that target Android devices lately. The latest is a malicious application that displays itself as the Madden NFL 12 game, carrying a set of components that get dropped onto the infected device.
Kaspersky Lab Experts have analyzed the Trojan a... |
14 January 2012
04:39 GMT |
|
|
Malicious Android apps are not uncommon, but Trend Micro researchers stumbled upon a new version of an older fraudulent app that uses a series of tricks to convince the victim into paying a certain amount of money.
These ill-intended Game Dunga sites usually host adult content, mainly videos, which, when viewed by t... |
12 January 2012
09:19 GMT |
|
|
The Carrier IQ controversy caused a lot of waves in the media and a number of companies developed detection tools that inform smartphone owners if their devices contain the spy software. Cybercriminals turned this to their advantage and released malicious versions of the tools that not only detect the presence of Car... |
12 January 2012
04:35 GMT |
|
|
Malicious apps have become commonplace on Android Market, but in many cases they’re easy to identify because they request a lot of unnecessary permissions that give away their true purpose.
Symantec researchers stumbled upon some improved fraudulent Android app which requests a single permission during instal... |
10 January 2012
13:41 GMT |
|
|
Rogue pieces of software which falsely alert users that their devices are infected with all sorts of malicious elements, requiring victims to pay certain amounts of money to allegedly clean their computers, have been spotted to target Android enthusiasts.
Up until now, Windows systems were the main target for these ... |
3 January 2012
10:28 GMT |
|
|
Researchers from F-Secure came across a large number of Trojans that were initially designed to seamlessly send SMSs to premium rate numbers with the purpose of filling the pockets of the cybercriminals who launch them. The only problem is that the latest series of these malicious apps contain a bug in the source cod... |
28 December 2011
09:10 GMT |
|
|
The latest incidents surrounding the elections in Russia and the controversial company Carrier IQ have caused quite a stir in the media and that’s why I thought it would be a good idea to ask the opinions of some experts regarding these matters.
Since they covered most of these subjects, I decided to speak wit... |
23 December 2011
14:31 GMT |
|
|
A legitimate Islamic compass Android application was discovered by Symantec researchers to hide a mobile Trojan designed to promote revolutionary topics in the Middle East.
While the app is clean on the Android Market, those who download it from third party locations may end up with a piece of malware that sends out... |
22 December 2011
08:23 GMT |
|
|
After researchers discovered OpFake, a mobile trojan that shares code with the well-known Spitmo, a newcomer identified as SymbOS/ConBot was found having the same characteristics.
F-Secure specialists came across the premium SMS sender and determined that it has a pretty sophisticated way of functioning, but unlik... |
19 November 2011
06:30 GMT |
|
|
Since the use of mobile devices increased, so did the number of malicious apps that target them. To counterattack the wave of malevolent pieces of software, McAfee released an advisory in which they highlight the necessary steps that need to be taken in order to avoid such applications.
Even though mobile malware is... |
14 November 2011
08:08 GMT |
|
|
A legitimate looking Android application requests the user permission to update and if the internet access is granted, it downloads an information-stealing trojan.
F-Secure researchers discovered Trojan:Android/DroidKungFu on a device right after a malicious-code-free app required an update.
This is not the first m... |
25 October 2011
05:00 GMT |
|
|
There are a number of ways in which mobile malware can show up on a PC, lately many situations presenting themselves for these malevolent apps make their appearance on desktop computers.
The Microsoft Malware Protection Center has been constantly checking the frequency of different threats that normally target mobil... |
20 October 2011
09:47 GMT |
|
|
Cybercriminals took advantage of the fact that the Netflix app, released early this year, was not available on all mobile devices and created one of their own that promised unsuspecting users the experience of a lifetime.
Symantec reports that this is how the Android.Fakeneflic piece of mobile malware was born.
... |
13 October 2011
02:42 GMT |
|
|
Google has pulled another set of trojanized apps from the Android market which were silently subscribing users to premium rate services via SMS.According to security researchers from AegisLab who analyzed the malicious code, the apps contained an SMS trojan.They were posted by a user named "zsone" and had names like ... |
12 May 2011
04:57 GMT |
|
|
The number of threats targeting mobile devices has rapidly increased in the past couple of years and according to Fortinet, most such malware originates in Russia and China.Based on statistics compiled by the security vendor, mobile malware families that have a monetary goal are by far the most common type, accountin... |
29 March 2011
10:51 GMT |
|
|
Security researchers from Trend Micro have identified a ZeuS-in-the-Mobile (ZITMO) variant that specifically targets BlackBerry devices to steal SMS messages.The trojan is part of the latest stream of ZeuS mobile components that try to tackle two-factor authentication systems implemented by banks.In order to counter ... |
8 March 2011
02:15 GMT |
|
|
A number of 21 apps rigged with a trojan were pulled from the Android Market after at least four days during which they registered over 50,000 downloads.The original report came from a Reddit user named "lompolo" who noticed that one of the apps was actually a legit one republished by a different developer.Apparently... |
2 March 2011
05:56 GMT |
|
|
The recently discovered Geinimi Android trojan which comes packaged together with apps from unofficial marketplaces is now targeting Japanese users.Geinimi was discovered back in December and is believed to be of Chinese origin because that's where it was originally identified.The trojan exhibits botnet-like cap... |
25 February 2011
07:41 GMT |
|
|
A new Android trojan has been identified in China performing search engine queries in the background and clicking on results that match a predefined list of URLs.According to AVG, who dubbed the trojan "ADRD," this click fraud operation involves a Chinese search engine called Xiaxia.com, which was already being targe... |
17 February 2011
10:53 GMT |
|
|
Security researchers from Kaspersky Lab have discovered a trojan targeting smartphones that run the Android mobile operating system, which sends SMS messages to premium rate numbers.Even though trojans that target smartphones are not a new threat, this is the first such malware discovered in the wild and specifically... |
10 August 2010
10:10 GMT |
|
|
A considerable percentage of mobile users are not concerned about the risks they are exposed to when accessing the Internet from their devices, a recent study concludes. Antivirus vendor Trend Micro found that 44 percent of over 1,000 users surveyed are not practicing safe browsing from their phones.The use of smart ... |
31 August 2009
05:23 GMT |
|
|
A new variant of the Yxes (Yxe) worm for Symbian S60 3rd edition has been found spreading in Saudi Arabia by mobile security company NetQin. Just as its former versions, this new threat hides as a legit application and is digitally signed. NetQin names this new threat Transmitter.C and notes that it masquerades as a... |
9 July 2009
06:18 GMT |
|
|
Kaspersky researchers warn that the previous mobile trojan transferring credit from infected phones without authorization has seen a new variant that is able to run on J2ME phones. This allows the attackers to target a significantly larger number of mobile customers.Two weeks ago, malware analysts from the Kaspersky ... |
7 February 2009
04:39 GMT |
|
|
|
|
Find us on Google+
