[Electronics-Talk] FW: [GTTsupport] iPhone users need to delete these Apple App Store apps right NOW

[Eric Calhoun]

Oh no!  Say what?


Original Message: 
From: "Albert Ruel" <albert.gtt at ccbnational.net>
To: GTTsupport at groups.io
Subject: [GTTsupport] iPhone users need to delete these Apple App Store
apps right NOW
Date: 
Sun, 27 Oct 2019 21:48:01 -0700

iPhone users need to delete these Apple App Store apps right NOW
Author: Aaron Brown
Date Written: Oct 26, 2019 at 5:00 PM
Date Saved: 10/27/19, 7:52 PM
Source:
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/1196281/iPhone-Delete
-These-Apps
APPLE has confirmed that 17 applications have been removed from the App
Store after they were found to be secretly committing fraud behind users'
backs to quietly collect advertising revenue from their smartphones. Here's
which apps were called out, so you can immediately delete any that are
still sitting pretty on your iOS home screen.

If you've got any of these apps on your iPhone, you really need to do
something about it (Image: GETTY)
If you've got any of these 17 apps saved on your iPhone, you'd best
delete them as soon as possible.
Apple has confirmed the applications have now been wiped from its App
Store, but you'll still need to manually delete them from your smartphone
if you'd already downloaded and run the software. The apps, which were all
created by a single developer, were maliciously collecting advertising
revenue behind iPhone owners' backs.
.	Amazon Fire TV upgrade brings thousands of new film and TV shows
.	Get a FREE Nintendo Switch with your new Samsung in this awesome deal
Fortunately, mobile security firm Wandera was able to sniff-out the
malicious software. For users, it would be almost impossible to tell that
anything was wrong, since the apps did exactly what they promised on the
tin... except that they were secretly fraud in the background on your
iPhone too.
"The objective of most clicker trojans is to generate revenue for the
attacker on a pay-per-click basis by inflating website traffic. They can
also be used to drain the budget of a competitor by artificially inflating
the balance owed to the ad network," the security firm explains.
Although the apps weren't designed to cause any direct harm to users or
their smartphones themselves, the nefarious behind-the-scenes activity
would drain mobile data faster than usual, so if you're not on an unlimited
4G plan - it would cost you each month. Secondly, the activity from the
apps could also cost you precious battery life, as well as slowing down
your phone, since it's having to process all the extra ad requests.
So, deleting the software could see a drop in any additional monthly
charges from your network provider, faster performance, as well as a few
more hours battery life, which are all pretty substantial benefits.
Wandera claims these iPhone apps were able to Apple's stringent review
process since the malicious code was never inside the apps themselves -
therefore there was nothing for Apple to detect when scanning them before
allowing them onto the App Store. Instead, the apps would receive
instructions to begin their activities from a remote server hosted by the
developers.
Apple says it's now improving the app review process to stop this
happening in future.

The same server was also designed to control a similar set of Android
apps. Unfortunately, the weaker security on the Android operating system
meant that the developer was able to go even further with these malicious
apps - causing direct harm to the user.
According to the Wandera security team, "Android apps communicating with
the same server were gathering private information from the user's device,
such as the make and model of the device, the user's country of residence
and various configuration details.
"One example involved users who had been fraudulently subscribed to
expensive content services following the installation of an infected app."
The full list of infected apps:
.	RTO Vehicle Information
.	EMI Calculator & Loan Planner
.	File Manager - Documents
.	Smart GPS Speedometer
.	CrickOne - Live Cricket Scores
.	Daily Fitness - Yoga Poses
.	FM Radio - Internet Radio
.	My Train Info - IRCTC & PNR (not listed under developer profile)
.	Around Me Place Finder
.	Easy Contacts Backup Manager
.	Ramadan Times 2019
.	Restaurant Finder - Find Food
.	BMI Calculator - BMR Calc
.	Dual Accounts
.	Video Editor - Mute Video
.	Islamic World - Qibla
.	Smart Video Compressor
All 17 infected apps are published on the App Stores in various countries
by the same developer, India-based AppAspect Technologies Pvt. Ltd. So, if
you spot the name on a listing of an app that looks good... don't download
it.



Thx, Albert

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.

View/Reply Online (#21381): https://groups.io/g/GTTsupport/message/21381
Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/38829132/541
Group Owner: GTTsupport+owner at groups.io
Unsubscribe:
https://groups.io/g/GTTsupport/leave/3285554/1174730913/xyzzy 
[eric at pmpmail.com]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-