If you don’t go to suspicious sites, malware can’t get you — right? Well, no. Even those who do not open unreliable e-mail attachments, avoid porn sites, and do not install apps from unofficial stores are not well-enough protected.
New developments suggest that malware can be found even on an absolutely legitimate site, as 318,000 thousand Android users found out when their Android devices were attacked by the Svpeng.q banking Trojan from Google AdSense advertisements. Google AdSense is the biggest ad network in the world, so a lot of criminals dream about finding a way to use the network to spread their malicious programs worldwide.
Read moreSecurity researchers at Cylance have uncovered a malware-spreading campaign that uses Google AdWords to pump out rogue code to macOS users. The malefactors bought the AdWords top ranking for the search term "Google Chrome," which appeared to lead the user to www.google.com/chrome.
In fact it redirected them to googlechromelive.com, which hoisted a fake download page for the popular browser. "On the other hand, the malicious download link redirects macOS users through ttb.mysofteir.com, servextrx.com, and www.bundlesconceptssend.com then ultimately downloads a malicious file named FLVPlayer.dmg," the team said in a blog posting.
Read moreGoogle this week took the wraps off Google Home, its smart speaker and home entertainment hub, but questions remain about the impact the device will have on users' privacy. A direct rival to Amazon Echo, Google Home is the company's entry into the smart home market.
Want Google Home to play your favorite song? Just say, "OK, Google" and ask for it to play the music. Want the device, which is equipped with its artificial-intelligence based Assistant, to play that funny cat video from YouTube on your TV? You get the picture. Google Home is always listening for the phrase, "OK, Google" so it can take its instructions.
Read moreGoogle Play was recently found to be hosting more than 400 apps that turned infected phones into listening posts that could siphon sensitive data out of the protected networks they connected to.
One malicious app infected with the so-called DressCode malware had been downloaded from 100,000 to 500,000 times before it was removed from the Google-hosted marketplace. Known as Mod GTA 5 for Minecraft PE, it was disguised as a benign game, but included in the code was a component that established a persistent connection with an attacker controlled server. The server then had the ability to bypass so-called network address translation protections.
Read moreIs Google manipulating autocomplete results to favor Clinton? Report shows search engine's bias and how negative suggestions about Hillary are removed. A research psychologist has detailed the results of an investigation which he says shows how Google is manipulating its results to favor Hillary Clinton.
Robert Epstein estimated that biased suggestions could shift up to three million votes in the upcoming November election in an article explaining his findings. Epstein said his research followed up claims in a viral video released by Sourcefed in June, which alleged the tech giant was tinkering with its search suggestions to cast Clinton in a positive light.
Read moreLess than three months after Pokémon Go launched, criminals sneaked malware into Google Play to target Pokémon trainers. Experts discovered the Trojan several days ago and immediately reported it to Google.
Unfortunately, by that time, the malicious app called Guide for Pokémon Go had already been downloaded more than 500,000 times. In the past few months almost 6 million people gave Pokémon Go a try. It’s no wonder that the massively popular game quickly caught the attention of cybercriminals: The first malware for Pokémon Go was traced in July, soon after the launch of the game. At that time, the situation was not so dangerous.
Read moreSometimes Android users have to download murky apps from Google Play. By “murky” we mean unfamiliar apps, apps from small publishers, and so forth — not the likes of Evernote, Dropbox, banking apps, or other popular programs. It might be a specialized engineering calculator, for example, or an alternative music player.
Many such apps exist in the Google Play store — thousands of them, in fact. And choosing isn’t easy. Seasoned Android users recommend going with the apps that have been downloaded the most times, the highest-rated apps, or the apps reviewed by the most people. It seems to make perfect sense.
Read moreThe Check Point mobile threat prevention research team discovered a new Android malware on Google Play, called “DressCode,” which was embedded into more than 40 apps, and found in more than 400 additional apps on third party app stores.
Check Point notified Google about the malicious apps, and some have already been removed from Google Play. The oldest apps were uploaded to Google Play on April 2016, where they remained undetected until recently. Some of the apps reached between 100,000 and 500,000 downloads each. Between 500,000 and 2,000,000 users downloaded the malicious apps from Google Play.
Read morePrisma, the app that became a global sensation with its ability to turn your photos into works of art, has become a honeypot for cybercriminals, with fake versions appearing in app stores vying to steal your personal information.
Capitalising on the popularity of the transformation app several, fake versions loaded with sly tricks such as fake surveys to capture users' data, as well as dangerous Trojan downloaders, snuck onto the Google Play Store. According to a blog by ESET, who discovered these fake apps among the five Trojan downloaders on Google Play, two have phishing functionality implemented that could probably be executed via the downloaded module.
Read moreLast week Facebook posted a video of its solar-powered Aquila drone’s inaugural flight. The aircraft’s design is of flying wing type, with a wingspan close to that of Boeing 737, covered with solar panels.
Besides solar panels, the drone is equipped with batteries which serve as a source of energy during nighttime. Pillars hold four electric engines which rotate propellers. There is also an on-board computer that navigates the aircraft through the predefined trajectory and is also responsible for communication with the ground. To contribute to the drone’s lightweight construction, it lacks wheels and take off using a special wheeled platform pushed by a vehicle.
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