Explore the latest news and trends  

Sign up for our weekly security newsletter


Be the first to receive important updates on security





Send

Hackers are Distributing Malware through Pokemon GO


Pokemon Go taken the world of games by storm, however those who want to join fun of free Nintendo application have to be careful. There are reports that augmented reality application is used by people to rob the players, and also there are deceiving versions which can create various other problems.

Pokemon Go, which has appeared for the first time exactly a week ago, has become very much popular throughout that time. But, the title is still not available in each and every country, which means that various users of Android have resorted to download APK and manually side-loading it.

Proofpoint, a security firm, says that even though safe APKs are out there, but malicious versions containing malware appeared within 72 hours of the release of the game. The packages consist of malware, which can "virtually give an attacker full control over a victim's phone".

Security researchers discovered in the infected Pokemon Go APK version that there is no way where players can tell if they had installed malware without digging into the app's permission, and then compare them with permissions of official app.

The researchers found that the app includes the remote access tool, which would permit attackers to gain the victim's phone control, with the server listening for connections from the infected devices and after that would give them commands that was Turkey-based.

According to Proofpoint, downloads from third-party website is "extremely risky practice and can easily lead users to installing malicious apps on their own mobile devices". Techcrunch.com posted on July 11th, 2016, stating that for protecting yourself from the possible infections, the best thing to do is only using official application store for downloading the game.

On the contrary, official game of Pokemon Go doesn't need any of these permissions.

Proofpoint does not advise users the way to become free from the malware once it has been installed, although one can believe that performing factory reset is the best way. Having a backup and restoring data is annoying; however it is only 100% effective method to remove the Android malware.

» SPAMfighter News - 7/15/2016

3 simple steps to update drivers on your Windows PCSlow PC? Optimize your Slow PC with SLOW-PCfighter!Email Cluttered with Spam? Free Spam Filter!

Dear Reader

We are happy to see you are reading our IT Security News.

We do believe, that the foundation for a good work environment starts with fast, secure and high performing computers. If you agree, then you should take a look at our Business Solutions to Spam Filter & Antivirus for even the latest version of Exchange Servers - your colleagues will appreciate it!

Go back to previous page
Next