apps

Malware creators are using new tactics to avoid their malicious Android apps being exposed. The scam involves hiding and even disguising apps as legitimate ones once they've been installed. Fake Apps Receive Fake Praise It's a twist on a ... well-established scam in which malware is distributed through apps that appear to perform a basic function such as reading QR codes, or turning the camera flash into a flashlight. Thanks to a host of bogus rave-reviews in the Google Play store, the only way to spot something is amiss is that the apps will ask for specific access permissions that are clearly ... (view more)

Nearly half a million users have been infected with "The Joker" malware through the Google Play store. The malware is particularly nasty and works by signing users up to premium services without their knowledge. The malware, spotted by researcher ... Aleksejs Kuprins, was found in 24 apps with a combined 472,000 downloads - though more apps may be found later. As of this writing, the 24 known apps have been removed from the Google Play store. (Source: techradar.com ) Infected Apps Need to be Removed If you have any of the following apps installed on your phone, they should be removed ... (view more)

Users of both Apple devices and the VLC media player should watch out for potentially serious security bugs. The former is a particular embarrassment for Apple. It turns out the company fixed a security bug in iOS 12.3 in April, then accidentally ... removed the fix in iOS 12.4, which it released last month. It now plans to fix it imminently in an emergency update to be titled iOS 12.4.1. The bug is very serious as it potentially allows a rogue app to "execute arbitrary code with system privileges." That effectively means malware could have complete control over an iOS device, something that's ... (view more)

Facebook is to show users what data it collects about their activity on other sites. It won't stop tracking, but will make the data anonymous if users ask. The changes will come in a new settings option called "Off-Facebook Activity." This will list ... all websites and apps that share data about user activity with Facebook. This most commonly happens through two methods. One is that the user has opted to log in to the third-party site through Facebook. In other words, as long as they haven't logged out of their Facebook account, they don't need to create or input user names and passwords for the ... (view more)

A report suggests that thousands of apps on the Google Play store are in fact counterfeits made to look like the legitimate app, but instead pose a major security risk to users. The study says such apps ask for dangerous levels of access to the ... phone or are packed with advertising. The study is a joint effort of the University of Sydney and Australia's national science research agency CSIRO. It took two years to carry out and involved trawling through 1.2 million apps to look for potential counterfeits. Rather than have humans check each app uploaded to Google Play (which would be entirely ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Debra P. writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I have been inundated with Windows 10 popup notifications that come from websites I've visited previously. I also receive a lot of email alerts. The popups are coming from bottom right corner ... of my screen and I have no idea how to stop it. Can you please tell me how to disable all Windows 10 notifications ? " My response: I asked Debra if she would like me to connect with her using my remote desktop support service in order to have a closer look, and she agreed. Below I will discuss my findings. How to Fix: Disable All Windows 10 ... (view more)

Facebook is launching an app that tracks what apps users use on their devices. In return, compensation will be provided. Facebook says only users over 18 years of age can take part in the 'research'. The app is named "Study" and is openly billed as ... being a "market research tool" for Facebook. It's designed for Facebook to learn more about its users, which the company says will help improve its services. Study will collect and transmit details of what apps are on the user's phones, how much time they spend using those apps, and - in some cases - what specific featured they ... (view more)

Microsoft says it is working on a "modern operating system" for the computers of the future. It avoided using the term "Windows" and the features and characteristics it describes share a lot with Google's Chrome operating system. The details came in ... a talk by Microsoft executives at Computex, a conference in Taipei. They demonstrated some of the latest laptops that run Windows, but then discussed how future PCs will have continually evolving requirements. The company's write-up of the talk says Microsoft is investing in "modern OS" experiences and uses that term eight times in a single ... (view more)

Google has stopped working with Chinese manufacturer Huawei, following a US government supply ban. It will have limited effect on Huawei smartphones and tablets that use the Google Android operating system, but will be a huge long-term problem for ... Huawei. The move comes after an executive order from the US President that restricts the way American companies can supply the Chinese-based firm. While attributed to security concerns involving the Chinese government, the order was made under economic emergency powers. (Source: theguardian.com ) Android-based Huawei handsets will continue to work ... (view more)

Unwanted pre-installed software on Android devices often poses privacy and security risks according to a new study. That's because the so-called "bloatware" often by-passes Google's vetting process. One of the key selling points, or big drawbacks - ... depending on your perspective - of the Android operating system is that phone and tablet makers can customize their own devices, through the user interface and the apps that appear when a new device is first powered on. That's different from systems such as Apple, where both the hardware and software are controlled by the same company . The study ... (view more)