Malicious Game Infects Millions of Users

Harmless folks who wanted to enjoy the game called Cowboy Adventure could possibly have found sensitive information jeopardized thanks to the malware inside the application. The internet and global security service providers ESET published an article describing how an app available on Google Play, was able to grab personal information off users.

Apparently, Cowboy Adventure, which has been removed from Google Play, produced a fake Facebook login interface. Because of which people were to enter their emails ID’s, phone numbers and passwords naturally. Once the user completes the login form and hits enter or click on the phony blue button, the information is stored on a server that belongs to the hackers.

If you’ve downloaded Cowboy Adventure – like the rest one million users did you should immediately change your password not only on Facebook but on any program which uses a similar username and password as the one you have on your Facebook.

Tech giant, Google does have security mechanisms established to keep infections and threats off the Play Store – Google Bouncer – however the truth is in today’s advanced computer world there is no such thing as a hundred percent strong safety, everything has a way in and a way out. Carnegie Mellon’s associate professor of computer sciences Jason Hong says that this kind of thing is pretty easy to do, plus we’re lucky we haven’t seen it a lot yet. It was further assumed that these type of things will appear a lot in the future because attackers are pretty proficient at replicating each other the moment they find out that something is effective. However, Google did remove once they discovered this program was a malicious tool.

Application stores tend to be the suppliers or hosts to tricky applications, regardless if they aren’t outwardly harmful. In cases such as in the event, they are exploiting your personal data. For example, particular games have been discovered to take advantage of individuals’ personal information or proper position to target advertisements.

Once you install an application off the official provider, you might be generally prompted to allow certain “authorizations” to the application. That said, it is not always defined for what reason: A game installed through Google Play might want access to a Wi-Fi. The reason given is that it allows the app to view details about Wi-Fi networking, for example whether Wi-Fi is enabled and details of connected Wi-Fi gadgets. Exactly! What does that even mean. Because of such things, Google is intending to overhaul the way these authorizations function in a new Android platform.

Meanwhile, we recommend that you should read all the information provided before downloading an application especially if you are downloading it from a non-official source. A few basic tips to stay safe:

1) Download an application from an official source or a licensed provider, like the Play Store or the App Store.

2) Read as many reviews as possible concerning the application or the software in general before you plan on installing it because a number of people commented on Cowboy Adventure’s Play Store page before Google noticed and removed it.

3) Always use two-way or two-factor authentication service on all the services that are providing it – this means whenever someone will try to access your account you will know in advance before they get you into any sort of trouble.

4) And it is always a good thing to install an anti-malware scanner on your phone and a good anti-virus for your PC. However, according to the security website AV-Test which reckons one should go for AhnLab V3 Mobile Security 3.0, then Alibaba Mobile Security 2.8, Antiy AVL 2.3, Avast Mobile Security 4.0, AVG Antivirus Free 4.4, and many more, you can check the complete list by clicking here.

Source: The Hacker News

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