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Malware growing on Android devices: Look before you install
Mar 1, 2011 11:33 AM
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Malware is increasingly popping up on Android devices, so think twice before you download apps from unregulated, third-party Android markets.

Security-software publisher Symantec Corp. has discovered two versions of an app called Steamy Window—one legitimate and one that contains malware. Steamy Window makes the screen on your device look like it's all steamed up, and when you wipe your finger across it, the steam clears.

But a malicious version of the app sold on third-party markets has added functionality you don't want: It sends text messages from the infected phone without your knowledge, adds bookmarks to the browser, blocks text message responses, and installs applications. Symantec says the goal of the malicious app is to build a botnet, but it's also costing users money—and earning the hackers commissions—by texting to premium-rate numbers, according to Computerworld.

You can tell the legitimate Steamy Window from the malicious one by looking at the permissions it lists right before you install it. These include giving the app control over your text messages and allowing it to read your browser's history and add bookmarks.

Before you download an app, take a look at the permissions it requests. If you can't figure out why it might need a particular permission—such as the ability to add bookmarks to your browser, as this one does—then you should probably skip the download. Check user comments before installing. And limit your app-hunting to regulated app stores like the Android Market.

This reinforces our advice not to buy low-end Android tablets running very early versions of the operating system—these don't include the full Google-endorsed Android Market.

—Donna Tapellini

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