Nasty Android Trojan Discovered
Dec 30, 2010, 11:51 AM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social
Malicious software for Android phones that threatens users' security and privacy has been discovered in China. As a trojan, it grafts itself onto other software that a user may legitimately download. It requests extended permissions from the user while posing as the (infected) legitimate software. It then reports sensitive private information back to a central server. There is evidence that it can also enable the central server to control some functions of the phone. The software, dubbed "Geinimi", has only been seen in China to date, and is only available via third-party software markets, not the Android Marketplace.
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Comments
i bet the author of the trojan is...
steve jobs! lol. bad enough he is losing market to android.
Yeah but there are alot of apps NOT on the market. âšī¸ Well I still have my Blackberry đ
Android is "Open" because you can download 3rd party software that is not found in Googles app store... but by side loading these "open" applications you can get malicious code. So the only way to prevent getting "infected" software is by using the Go...
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trenen said:
Thus why The Market exists.
What... out of the goodness of their heart, Google created the Android Marketplace for user's safety?
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i'm astounded anyone is surprised by this ..
just another excuse for another round of Android vs iOS handbags....
i do most of my banking, keep credit card / financial information and tons of work stuff on my phone .. why wouldn't someone want to...
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just another excuse for another round of Android vs iOS handbags....
i do most of my banking, keep credit card / financial information and tons of work stuff on my phone .. why wouldn't someone want to...
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Lessons
So the take-away here is:
- The official Android Market is the safer place to get your software. You do take a risk when getting software from other sources.
- Always, always pay attention to the security/privacy permissions that you grant when you install an app. It's easy to just dismiss that alert it as an annoying step, but it's very important. That's the security built into Android that is supposed to keep you safe from misbehaving software.
concern is legitimate
I switched from Blackberry to an Android based device 3 months ago. I switched for most of the same reasons many people do, and honestly, I have little regret. That said, after using Blackberry for 12+ years, my concern was/is security.
I realize that for now this is limited to China and is not impacting the USA. I also get that the Android Market is not impacted by this, again, at least for now.
This all said, I do believe that concern by people like me is legitimate. Perhaps this is why I don't sell, nor will I my Blackberry.
I realize that for now this is limited to China and is not impacting the USA. I also get that the Android Market is not impacted by this, again, at least for now.
This all said, I do believe that concern by people like me is legitimate. Perhaps this is why I don't sell, nor will I my Blackberry.
Nice thing to read after getting a new Android phone.......
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pwfb said:This all said, I do believe that concern by people like me is legitimate. Perhaps this is why I don't sell, nor will I my Blackberry.
and when the first Blackberry virus hits you'll be doing what?
don't...
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So long as you are careful to only download applications from legitimate sources the concern is NOT legitimate
As with PC's, 90% or more of malware is installed because the user is visiting the 'shadier' parts of the Internet
As with PC's, 90% or more of malware is installed because the user is visiting the 'shadier' parts of the Internet
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I don't expect this to become a problem with Market apps, because there is accountability there: They know who you are, there's a record of who submitted the code, and what it was. If you're causing trouble, you can be stopped, your software remotely ...
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