“Developers often complain about the hoops Apple makes them jump through to get their wares into the iOS App Store. But the company has its reasons — besides its 30% cut of the revenue — and one of them was illustrated by the warning issued Friday by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3),” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune. “‘The IC3 has been made aware of various malware attacking Android operating systems for mobile devices,’ it begins. ‘Some of the latest known versions of this type of malware are Loozfon and FinFisher.'”
“Loozfon is an information-stealing piece of malware,” P.E.D. reports. “Criminals use different variants to lure the victims. One version is a work-at-home opportunity that promises a profitable payday just for sending out email. A link within these advertisements leads to a website that is designed to push Loozfon on the user’s device. The malicious application steals contact details from the user’s address book and the infected device’s phone number.”
P.E.D. reports, “FinFisher is a spyware capable of taking over the components of a mobile device. When installed the mobile device can be remotely controlled and monitored no matter where the Target is located. FinFisher can be easily transmitted to a Smartphone when the user visits a specific web link or opens a text message masquerading as a system update.”
Full article with a slew of “safety tips” for Android smartphones, here.
MacDailyNews Take: The FBI forgot one. Here’s the best safety tip of all: Don’t settle for a cheap knockoff, get a real iPhone.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
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