Candy coated bad apps, GPS apps, new gadgets, new gadgets 2013, Candy coated security apps
In March 2013, Candy Crush Saga
experienced sweet victory by bumping Farmville 2 out of its coveted first place
position as the most popular game on Facebook.
Since Candy Crush Saga began,
the social game has experienced success and fanfare. In fact, Candy Crush has
more than 43 million users accessing it monthly.
If Candy Crush isn’t your
social game of choice, there’s always Farmville 2, Words with Friends, Texas
HoldEm Poker, Mafia Wars, and the list goes on. Whether you’re an active player
or sign on every so often, these games are a hit with Internet thieves and
users alike.
Candy-Coated Bad for You Apps
As you can image, with such a large user following, personal
identity pirates are not far behind in figuring out creative ways to hijack
your private information. The Better
Business Bureau, Consumer News and Opinion Blog, reports that fake Candy Crush
apps have been appearing as quickly as its rise in popularity.
So, how are identity
thieves cashing in on your game playing sweet tooth? One strategy is to add
computer code for ad networks to these imposter apps. The end result is the
ability to collect personal information about users that they might prefer to
keep private.
Reports indicate these
fake apps tend to target users of Android phones more than other smartphones. In a Trend Micro analysis, 293,091
apps were found to be malicious and of these, 68,740 were found on the official Google Play store. Even more alarming,
around 22% of these malicious apps were found to leak information about the user.
Keep Your Information Away from Sticky Fingers
So, what can you do to
avoid these malicious, information poaching apps -- while still enjoying your
favorite way to pass time? Here are a few recommendations to keep your private
information secure and your thumbs busy.
First things first,
install security apps on your devices. Security apps are a great and easy
safeguard, because they detect and delete malicious or high-risk apps.
Only download apps from
trusted and recognized developers. Since there are fewer barriers to entry in
the Google Play store than the Apple store, you will want to do additional
research on the developer to ensure they are reputable and have a history of
creating known and trusted games and applications. Also, if you have a jail
broken iPhone, avoid installing unauthorized or underground applications.
Although this isn’t a fail-safe, this strategy can certainly help keep your
private information secure.
I recommend thoroughly
reading the app and developer’s page before downloading anything. Information
about the developer and any comments from other users about the app can be
particularly revealing. User comments are a wealth of information, so check
them out and incorporate these comments into your decision to download or not. And if there are no
comments, and the app has been released for more than a few months, take that
as a sign that the app may not be safe.
In addition to reviewing
the app page, be careful about the permissions you grant. If you do not feel
comfortable granting permission to your device’s GPS or contacts -- then don’t.
Think of it this way, if you can’t imagine how your game play is enriched with
the app having access to your device’s GPS or contacts, then it’s probably not
necessary. So, deny, deny, deny.
Written by: Written by: Noah Gamer is a driven business
leader with experience in Internet marketing, Web software development and
eCommerce. Currently, he develops Internet security software for Trend Micro.
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