Android apps such as Jetpack Joyride, Madden NFL 12, Pinterest and Batman Arkham City Lockdown are rife with malware. But these aren’t the official apps. No, they’re merely impostor apps that have snuck past the security gates of the Android Market.
According to Android Police, a scam outfit calling itself Rovio Mobile Ltd. (yes, it’s even ripping off the name of the Angry Birds developer) has committed the most blatant form of IP theft and are duping people into infecting their phone with apps intended to collect your info and spam your inbox. And MSNBC says that’s not all:
Also found lurking the Android Market is a phony version of the Pinterest app, the popular new online pinboard. The bogus Pinterest app, from the ironically named developer “Official Android App,” installs other apps without the user’s permission.
A glance at the user reviews for “Jetpack Joyride” tells the true tale of the game’s intentions.
“Will not let me enter my email address to download the full version! What a load of rubbish,” wrote a user named Bethanie on Feb. 5.
Beware what developers you’re downloading from. [Android Police via MSNBC]
James
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:34 PMLOL. Droids are the first to chime in with the whole “Apple has closed architecture and stringent rules for apps to follow to be allowed to sell for their products Waaaah!”
This is why.
James
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:36 PMit’s also a good feeling to know that I can download any app from iTunes and it’s gonna be fine on my iPad. I’m a lot more cautious and most of the time, not even bothering getting apps for my HTC Desire S. Stories like this certainly don’t help the situation.
Ozoneocean
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:55 PMIt’s open, that’s the benefit.
If there is bad stuff, people find it and report it and everyone shares it.
There has been malware aplenty for the iphone, you just don’t hear about it because 1 you don’t want to, and 2 Apple deals with it quietly. You could be infected, have data stolen or whatever and never know.
James
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 1:13 PMgot a link to this “aplenty malware” on iphone that you’re talking about because either 1. it doesn’t get reported on sites like this or 2. you’re full of it.
If malware were rife on the iphone, apple couldn’t keep it quiet, especially with rabid fandroids looking for any shit to throw at the “enemy”
Funny
Ozoneocean
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 3:23 PMThere have been stories on this very tech blog right here that you’re reading right now about applications that have been removed from the app-store because of malicious properties, I am very surpirised you didn’t know about that, ironically proving my point. :)
I’m sorry that I don’t save all the relevant links to these things in a Google doc or text file specially for situations like these, but I’m just not that crazy. :)
James
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 5:31 PMwell, I been a regular here a long time and I ain’t seen squat, anything malicious doesn’t really make it through, although they try. Apple certainly makes it a heck of a lot harder.
It also makes a great arguement for Apple when explaining why they’re so tight on control of their platforms. I applaud it even if some functionality is lost. When I get my iMac in the near future, all my devices will connect with each other seamlessly and I don’t have to worry about bad apps polluting them. On a grand scale picture, Apple certainly think big and it’ll pay dividends….hang on….it already does.
haha
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 1:02 PMexcept apple doesnt pay dividends, it lets it share price grow giving shareholders capital gains instead
guess your little istock app didnt teach you that huh? Closed-education ecosystem too?
Johnny P
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 2:12 PMAll the more reason to never download android apps that aren’t made by a major player/large corporation.
MDolley
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 3:53 PMYou mean like well known mobile gaming companies like Rovio Mobile Ltd.?
That advise doesn’t really help when the malicious apps are published under legit sounding names.
Trishool
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 9:42 AMRead and learn: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/?s=iphone+apple+malware
Antipodean
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:37 PMWhat happened to the new watchdog that was touted a few days ago?
RooBoy
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:48 PMopen source sucks and thats the final word
Esophagus
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 6:44 PMHow much of the net is hosted on open source servers? Jesus Christ…
RooBoy
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 9:23 AMwhat does a factious religious story character have to do with Open Source software sucking?
Antonia
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:50 PMI’d say that given the US military’s recent decision to go with Android this is some bs to help bolster Apple’s claims that iOS is more secure.
Ozoneocean
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:59 PMWhy? That makes no sense at all Antonia.
These are apps made available through an app market. Do you really imagine the military phones will have access to that same open app market?
It’s very easy to restrict the markets a phone model is open to. Androids or iphones, it doesn’t matter at all in this situation. Both would be restricted to the same military app source anyway.
Antonia
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 2:38 PMDo you even know these apps exist and are malware of is it some fud that is being propagated? I say its fud following the recent positive publicity android got (via the US military).
Did you not read the last line in the linked source “they [the apps] “did not contain malware, nor did they do anything to damage a user’s phone or bypass permissions.”
Ozoneocean
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 3:20 PMI miss-read the intent of your post. Yes, it’s FUD, but I think it’s just general FUD, not from Apple and not for any particular intent. People just love to harp on.
Dionysus
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:56 PMAny device is only as secure as the person using it.
James
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 1:15 PMyes, but not everyone wants to be a computer nerd and know every in and out of a smartphone. Take my mother for instance. She can use a smartphone adeptly and a heck of a lot of the apps BUT she doesn’t know anything about this sort of thing. What for them? Tell them they’re stupid and don’t deserve a smartphone?
Yep, great logic.
maybe...
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 1:52 PM..she (like everyone) needs to read the reviews and ratings for these apps as well as learning a bit of ‘hmmmm… its asking for my credit card details, that seems legit *types it in*’ common sense
Rob
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:30 PMAll too true but so many people would rather stop using the common sense part of their brain and instead get some one else to do all the ‘hard work’ for them.
These are probably the sort of people who get scammed by door to door con artists as well.
PhantomOfTheOpera
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 8:23 AMGoogle really need to address those issue. I’m an android developer and I’ve received a comment that one of my app is making phone calls. it is not true and my app doesn’t even require permission to make phone call, still if the user left this comment it has something bogus on his phone. this hurts honest developers. I had to stop advertising for my app as if users read that my app is making phone calls they won’t download it. it is really a shame, the ones that are currently paying for this are honest developers. I’m tempted to quit the android market as, till now, many users downloaded my games but only the free versions, even if i have a high download count. now this.. honestly is it worth the time it take to develop apps for android?
MDolley
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 1:47 PMIn theory but if people googled “JetPack Joyride” then they’d find that it was an actual game that is popular on iOS. I think it’s perfectly reasonable that people could see the fake screenshots and think it was the same thing and legit.
Franz
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 4:21 PMYours are the droids they’re looking for.
Roman
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 5:55 PMi read it a while ago, but doesnt the amazon store check its apps? so everyone worried about malware could just use that instead?
illogical
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:28 PMopen source does not suck. The system is excellent. Everything is great. It’s Google who needs to employ more people to let android programmers sift through the apps as finely as Apple does. It’s a matter of Google being stingy, and thus these problems happening. The pirate Rovio Mobile Ltd is shocking; i’d fully support a lawsuit against Android for having these impostors get through so easily.
TL;DR Android needs to take a leaf from Apple’s book in terms of app security standards.
WPDownUnder
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 8:05 PMLOL @ Android :D