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Beware Of New Android Malware Which Charges You For Free Apps

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 14:01

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Malware has been a consistent problem on Android platform. Now a new type of Android malware has come up, one that charges users for apps that are free for download from the Google Play Store. Given the fact that charging is involved, one can only guess the gravity of this malware situation. This malware is a variant of Android.Opfake and is already widespread. Surely many Android users have been falsely charged for free apps, though this begs one question, does this malware in any way put at risk payment and personal information of said users?

Android users face many malware related issues. Such malware usually spreads through apps. One might argue that this problem is due to Google’s relatively less control over what goes on the Play Store as opposed to Apple’s heavy scrutiny of apps submitted for addition to iTunes App Store. This is a valid argument and without a doubt one of the major reasons why Android is so plagued with malware.

However since Google boasts its platform’s openness against Apple’s closed platform, they can’t bring about the same level of control. Nevertheless Google has worked very hard in securing Android platform and the users against such malware related problems, and it continues to make advances related to safety and security.

This new Android malware was first discovered by a security firm that’s behind the popular antivirus, Norton. Symantec discovered this new variant of Android.Opfake which charges users for installation of free apps and is particularly affecting a large number of Russian speaking Android owners. This scam has been very elaborately put in place, with dozens of fake app market websites created and dedicated servers which host these infected apps, many clueless users have been duped and falsely charged. When a user installs an app from such sources, a secondary installation takes place after the user launches said app under the assumption that it has already finished installing. This step should make alarm bells goes off, as an app does not instigate a secondary installation once it has already been installed.

So when this secondary installation finishes, users are shown an agreement which they have to confirm. At the bottom there’s a line which indicates users will be charged for this service, however it’s so far down that it’s possible to miss it entirely. It doesn’t end here. During the secondary installation, a premium rate SMS message in the background which in turn incurs a hefty charge on your cellphone bill. That is how these apps are being used to falsely charge users.

How to safeguard against such scams? Never install apps from sources other than the Google Play Store. App market and websites which personally host Android apps should largely be avoided. Furthermore, trusted websites should be used for all of your app discovery needs.

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