Android Safety: Attack of the DroidDream

One of the great things about an Android phone is the access to a hefty number of open source apps. Unfortunately this could easily turn into a disadvantage with the growing number of Android apps that are being infected with malware. Since mobile devices are now also connected to the web, they can also be prone to online safety risks. Google has found over 50 apps infected with malware and immediately pulled it out form Android Market. The Android Police spotted these knock-off/pirated apps after some 50,000 user devices were infected.

The infected apps are free full version downloads of popular paid apps, it is then slightly renamed, repackaged and infected with malware designed to get information from the users phone. Basically, these Trojan apps seem friendly enough until users download them it begins rooting itself to the device, steal information and connects to a server which can manipulate it with a number of commands. The malware has the ability to get the devices SIM card number and user-specific information such as the IMSI or International Mobile Subscriber Identity.

The malware attack is now being called the “DroidDream” virus and 21 of the malicious apps were published by Myournet. Some like the Steamy Window came from a third-party download site instead of the Android Market. Since then Google has take steps to remove the apps from the Market, suspend the developer and their associated accounts and remotely pull the kill-switch to remove the devices from infected smartphones. They have also launched the Android Market Security Tool March 2011 patched which was installed into the infected devices.

To prevent this from happening to your Android device it’s recommended to follow some smartphone safety guidelines. Install Anti-Virus apps such as Symantec Mobile, Norton Mobile, BullGuard Mobile Security 10, Lookout and other security software to keep their devices protected. Stay clear form downloading via third-party sites or “sideloading”, especially files that end with .APK.  Although not all .APK files are not malicious most of the time you download them without knowing what’s really in them and that’s what makes them dangerous. One more thing that you need to pay attention to are user reviews, take time to read them before downloading the app, this way you can make sure that you are getting what you really want. Just because an app is free does not mean that it is safe.

Here is the list of infected apps courtesy of the Android Police:

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