Did we just get a new smartphone for Christmas? Or after saving for several months we managed to buy the phone we have always dreamed of? It is time to learn how to protect it and not frustrate the efforts made. The various stores, where we can download the apps, are in fact the target of hacker attacks and computer pirates every day. And many are really hard to recognize. So we pay attention to these apps because they are very dangerous for security and personal data. Many of these threats have surfaced in the past month. Others seemed to have disappeared and have returned to jeopardize privacy and sensitive information. Let's find out what they are and how to defend yourself.
We pay attention to these apps because they are very dangerous for security and personal data
In recent months, hackers have found an extremely dangerous trick to infiltrate our phones and steal bank and personal data. That is, they stopped publishing clearly harmful apps in the stores and started inserting small code updates in those deemed safe. An ingenious way to bypass virtual store security checks.
Fortunately, security experts are always on the move and have spotted some of these threats, which often affect home banking apps. One of the most dangerous is the Anatsa Trojan. This virus targets banking data and works really sneaky. That is, it enters the smartphone when the app is updated and not when the download is made. Therefore, we avoid downloading apps that require immediate and too frequent updates. We risk infecting the phone.
Also beware of Anubis, another malware that affects banking apps, virtual wallets and other online payment methods. In this case it is easier to defend yourself. Anubis appears, in fact, through fake versions of original apps and requires just installed to disable the protection systems. We don't do this and we download the programs only from the official stores and after reading the reviews.
The Joker Danger and Color Message
In recent weeks, even the terrible Joker has returned to threaten smartphones. Joker is a virus that automatically downloads subscriptions to very expensive services, after stealing credit card data. Well, the malware managed to infect the Color Message app, evading the security checks of the Google Play Store.
Color Message is an app that allows you to customize messages for use in instant messaging programs. Google's security team removed it as soon as they recognized the attack. In the meantime, it has been downloaded more than 500,000 times. If we did it too, let's eliminate it in a hurry.
Beware of the Galaxy Store
Even Samsung users who download apps from the Galaxy Store cannot sleep peacefully. The brand's native store hides fewer pitfalls than the others, but some threats exist. In particular, some apps for viewing audio and video content ended up under the lens of security experts. That is the Showbox clones and the like. These programs pose a double threat. On the one hand they collect personal data to resell them, on the other hand they download dangerous codes to our phone. Better to delete them if we have them or not download them.
Deepening
Here are the phone killer apps that we should immediately delete or replace
(We remind you to carefully read the warnings regarding this article, which can be consulted HERE ")