Android Virus Lurking in Angry Birds Space Coveralls

If you have been thinking about downloading the latest installment of the successful Angry Birds franchise, by all means go ahead. Head on over to Google Play and you should be able to find it in no time since it’s one of the top apps available for free there. However, if you are thinking about using 3^rd party app providers to get the Angry Birds Space game, you should be aware of a botnet masquerading as the hit game. According to a security firm known as Sophos, it looks like a fully functional version of the game but has a hidden exploit that installs bad code onto your Android device. Once that code has lodged itself comfortably on your phone, it will attempt to install an increasing amount of malware.

From what Sophos has said, before downloading any application from unofficial app markets, always take a bit of time to read and research the developer and also note the permissions needed for the application in question. If you are not comfortable with any of them, chances are that it’s not worth downloading. The best way to avoid any problem related to viruses is of course to use trusted sources such as Google Play or Amazon App Store. That said, not all unofficial app markets are bad and some even offer good alternatives to what is available at Google Play but what is more important is that the user is aware of the risks involved before pressing the ‘download’ button.

Pradeep Chandrasekaran
Categories: Cellphones, Tablets, Web
Tags: angry birds space, Malware, trojan