“The Trojan virus, named Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a, is distributed through a message sent to users prompting them to install a 13 kilobyte (KB) ‘harmless’ media player application,” Hutchinson reports.
“Once installed, the Trojan virus sends SMS messages to premium rate numbers without notifying the user,” Hutchinson reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This is big reason why Apple offers a curated App Store. You’d have to jailbreak your iOS device in order to open yourself up to even the possibility of this type of Trojan attack. Not so with Google Android where malware is a “feature.” Get a real iPhone.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “James W.” for the heads up.]
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
And the FUN of “Open” Begins.
Open… as in an open wound.
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Love my iPhone but wouldn’t really brag about the security while that PDF exploit is still in the wild.
I have to agree with Bas. Apple dropped the ball here, not fixing the PDF problem in a timely fashion — especially considering it gives root access.
That said, Android users can expect malware to continue. Go figure. Android supposedly has all the benefits of open source Linux, but definitely has all the problems of Windows.
If security by obscurity were true, the iPhone would be the one with more problems, since worldwide, it crushes Android.
Bas
Wouldn’t you need to receive an email, then open the pdf to install the virus? I don’t know about other people, but I wouldn’t open a pdf from someone I don’t know.
And this is only the start.
@dd
You can agree all you want, but the fact is that the PDF format is not Apple’s baby, it’s Adobe, again.
@dd
I never bought the “security by obscurity” argument and your point is very insightful.
I think the virus issue has to do with disgruntled employees and corporate haters. My company had no security issues until they laid off (for the first time) significant numbers of IT personnel. Suddenly we (our servers) were under attack. This “coincidence” confirmed and strengthened my belief that it’s because the PC is the dominant platform in the corporate world. The Mac and the iPhone are not. They are not the hardware that runs corporate America. Thank goodness and let’s hope it stays that way.
@ silverhawk
what if the email is sent by the virus from one of your friends’ iPhones after infecting them ?
BAD ROBOT!
@ Mac-nugget
yep, the open PDF format was published by Adobe, but it’s Apple’s implementation in the iOS
Hey fellas. Wasn’t the name of the app T-r-o-j-a-n M-a-n a tipoff?
I agree bas and I for one love my iPhone 3G[s] iOS 4. Android has a good direction but still at the end of the day the’re all just iPhone clones sorry but Unix came before Linux. And UNIX is allot more solid Thank you Darwin OS!
Android is not Linux.
It’s a Form of Java sitting on a Linux kernel.
Sorry my comment didn’t mean to agree with bas it was silverhawk I was agreeing with
@Mac-Nugget:
Yes, it is Apple’s fault. The PDF exploit is Safari-specific. I’ll accept an Apple fanboy label any day, but that doesn’t mean I never hold Apple accountable.
but a Trojan. Trojans also exist for MacOS X.
And if the story said Apple instead of Android (/Google),
this would be main stream Headline News.
It’s NOT a virus
Social engineering is the fault of whomever visits or downloads from untrustworthy sites.
It was inevitable. The press has been hyping Android’s Incredible growth without including malware as part of the growth. It’s Windows all over again. Well, at least it was free. Hahahahahaaaaaaa.
And then you have the BBC…
Disingenuous to say the least: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10912376
But but but laws and police are completely unnecessary in the open and free streets of AndroidWorld.
It’s true — it’s not a virus, but that doesn’t make it much better in this case. As long as there are no rules about things getting installed on Android (and how they get installed), the number of malware will far exceed that on the iPhone.
awww.. this is just the start of this crap… once you need anti-virus running on your phone 24/7 people will start to see why they need to choose a iPhone… plus more carriers soon spells success!
It’s funny. People talk about how Mac users will get hit hard because they sit back and assume they’re 100% safe. The fact is, I see this from the Windows crowd.
“I just bought a brand new Windows 7 computer and have the extra-full-super deluxe Norton’s security suite with Hasta La Vista, Baby™ viral destruction service.” Yet, 2 weeks after having that, they’re infected with one of the many variants of the rogue-security software (Windows 2010 security or whatever it’s called these days). Shouldn’t the AV companies be picking up on the main “DNA” of these programs and stop them from getting into the system?
And, at $200 a pop, no wonder Geek Squad is thriving. People are dumb™.
Many times when these stories are posted, people shout that it’s not this type because…
The simple truth is someone casually using the net could do the clicking for you, like letting your kid or whomever on your computer. If you are not protected you are living in a fool’s paradise.