malware

It's no longer really surprising to hear about yet another malware on the rise on the Android platform. Sometimes, their threat can be genuinely frightening, especially when they manage to get past Google's automated security checks. The Xhelper malware being reported is, fortunately a bit different in that, this time, infected apps are being traced to unofficial sources outside Google Play Store. Unfortunately, the evolution of the malware over the past months may prove it to be just as dangerous and damaging if left unchecked.

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System security is something that's always evolving, and that's especially true as malicious attacks become more sophisticated. In recent years, we've seen malware begin to target vulnerabilities in firmware, which is bad news since that can make malicious code harder to detect and remove. Microsoft today presented a solution to that problem, announcing that it's partnered with manufacturers to develop Secured-core PCs.

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An iPhone exploit that impacted several generations of iOS up to iOS 12, and which could potentially see malware installed on a device simply by visiting a hacked site, was quietly patched by Apple earlier this year, Google's Project Zero has confirmed. Fourteen vulnerabilities were spotted by the search company's security researchers, which if used maliciously could have been used for so-called watering hole attacks.

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Ransomware, a type of malware that locks down a victim's computer until they pay a ransom, has crippled computer systems at dental offices throughout the United States. According to multiple reports, hundreds of dental offices have been impacted by the ransomware attack, locking them out of computers that contain patient information, among other things.

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It isn't news that an Android app gets past Google's security system and stays on the Play Store to spread malware to unsuspecting users. Most of the time, however, those apps are blatant copies or ripoffs of popular apps and games. Rare but not unheard of is the case of a legit app carrying malicious code to catch users unawares. Unfortunately, that is exactly the case with the popular CamScanner app that, even more unfortunately, has been download more than 100 million times.

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Your digital camera may not steal souls every time you take someone's photos, but it may present an unexpected opportunity for hackers to load ransomware. New research suggests that increasingly consumer-friendly features like wireless connectivity are opening up DSLRs to potential hacks, that could leave your photos locked behind a ransom paywall or worse.

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It's not rare to hear about malware that gets past Google Play Store's defenses or even some that masquerade as legitimate apps. But when malware gets embedded inside those legit apps in an official manner things are bound to get messy. Unfortunately for Chinese software house CooTek, it is on the receiving end of a sanction that bans it not just from Google Play Store but even from Google's ad platforms.

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It's not uncommon to hear of some form of Android malware wreaking havoc on users' lives. Some of these even manage to get into Google Play Store, much to the platform maker's shame. This new strain of virus at least doesn't come from Android's canonical app store but its effects are no less destructive. In fact, it can manage to replace apps you did install from Google Play Store with infected duplicates, which is why its discoverers have dubbed it "Agent Smith".

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A huge number of Android users have been tricked into downloading a fake Samsung firmware update app that claims it will update a phone's software, but in reality redirects users to an ad-filled website and predatory subscription plan. The app is still live on the Google Play Store as of July 5 at 8PM ET, though it will no doubt get removed in the near future.

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A set of publications took the time to travel to China to investigate a claim that China installed malware on tourist phones at their borders. As it turned out, this practice didn't occur at every single station, but it was certainly happening - and it was government sanctioned. Today we're taking a look at the app that border agents installed on tourist phones as they entered the country. This app was extremely blatant in its techniques and searches.

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There is no shortage of malware around the world but the most vicious kind are the ones that hold people's precious files for ransom. Even worse are the ransomware that demand payment from victims knowing fully well that there is actually no way to recover those files. One of the most recent and most egregious is the GrandCrab strain of ransomware. The good news is that its principal owners and operators have announced their "retirement". The bad news is that they're doing so because they claim to have already earned $2 billion from the operation.

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It's probably nothing new by now whenever news about this or that malware getting into Google Play Store's automated "bouncer" but few have probably achieved the same mass reach as this one. Called BeiTaAd or BeitaPlugin, the particular strain of adware will perhaps go down in history for having taking great pains to hide its nature from security measures and being found in 238 unique apps. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that those apps were all made by the same Chinese company as well.

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