malware

It's not unusual for companies to experience data breaches that put their customers at risk. When that company happens to own the one and only sanction app store for its platform, however, then it becomes a rather scary prospect. That is always one of the risks of Apple's App Store when the tools used to upload apps are themselves infected with malware, which is what happened almost six years ago with the XCodeGhost incident whose details are only surfacing now thanks to a lawsuit involving Fortnite of all things.

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Google recently boasted about the success of its efforts to protect Google Play Store and Android devices last year mostly using advanced machine learning technology. That, however, doesn't cover apps acquired outside of the Play Store and the phones that install those. Sometimes, Android's own open nature sometimes works against it because of that, like the case of this FluBot malware that's spreading rapidly like a real virus, spreading to people in your phone's address book to steal their passwords.

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Android malware isn't exactly new but you might presume they only come from apps downloaded from some shady sources. Anyone following mobile news, however, will probably be aware of how apps on the Google Play Store may turn out to be carriers for such malicious software, sometimes taking weeks or even months before someone discovers them. Such is the case with another batch of such malware-laden apps on Google's officially sanctioned and recommended app store, ones that misuse existing features to make unauthorized purchases.

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Although it has certainly improved, Windows remains vulnerable to a large number of malware, at least more than its peers and rivals both on desktops and mobile. It is almost too easy to infect a Windows PC by simply downloading an app, despite having an official app store. Microsoft urges users to only install apps from its official channels but some hackers are now taking advantage of that by masquerading as legit Microsoft Store apps.

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The US government has issued a rare warning around Microsoft security patches, with the White House pushing American companies to install a recently-released set of updates. Security vulnerabilities identified by the US government itself prompted the new Microsoft Exchange updates, Anne Neuberger, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber & Emerging Technologies, said in a statement.

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Although Google naturally advocates using only its blessed Google Play Store, there is technically nothing that prevents users from using other sources for their app needs. While those alternative stores sometimes offer legit benefits over Google Play Store for one reason or another, they are sometimes also more targeted by malware authors because of their less restrictive policies and systems. In some cases, however, it may be the store owner's own actions that led to a security compromise as was the case of APKPure's own app.

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A new and malicious Android malware was discovered on the Google Play Store. The malware was disguised as a Netflix content enabling app called "FlixOnline." The malware spreads itself via malicious automatic replies to WhatsApp messages sent to the user. Payloads for the malware are received from a remote command and control server.

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Malware of all kinds on Android are nothing new. Some even manage to get past Google Play Store's security checks. Most, however, ride on apps that are sourced outside of Android's sanction app store and those are often able to wreak more havoc than normal harmful apps. Case in point is a new kind of spyware that could be one of the more sophisticated malware of its kind in recent months, not only gaining access to almost all of a user's data but even conning them into thinking it's a legit system update.

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The Mac isn't exactly impervious to malware, as evidenced by ransomware and adware reports in the past years. The popularity of the Apple M1 Silicon has even made it a bigger target for hackers these days. There has now been at least two reported malware designed to run specifically on Apple's latest and most powerful chip and this second, codenamed Silver Sparrow, has security experts perplexed and fearful because of its potential to do serious damage.

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Apple's M1 processor can consider itself a success in the tech world, given that it's already graduated to having malware target the new Apple Silicon. Found in the latest MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, and Mac mini, the chipset is a close relative of the SoC found in the iPad Pro, but it's getting a taste of some desktop nefarious code.

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Perhaps a bit worse than Google Play Store, the Chrome Web Store for browser extensions has been notorious for hosting malware disguised as useful plugins. Google has started to tighten the noose on these potentially harmful software but some malicious actors have stepped up their game of deceptive strategies. Now, these malware entice users by actually delivering the functionality they promise but with dangerous malware added on top. Such was the case with The Great Suspender that has caused a great uproar because of how Google handled the situation.

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Making web browser extensions available is really like opening a can of worms. Given the nature of the Web, the actors that play in its dark corners, and the growing power of web browsers, it's almost too easy for these plugins to take advantage of all that to harm users. Browser makers have been working hard to fight against such abuses but some still get through the cracks. One threat, in particular, was reportedly in operation for almost three years and has been found in widely-used extensions on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge that, in total, accumulated more than 3 million installations.

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