Watch this October 2014 alert about flashlight apps on SmartPhones.
Then you can lose a lot of sleep or head over to your cell phone provider's store and take action to protect yourself.
Do you use your phone for banking? Credit card payments? Just checking a balance on your credit card or checking account?
Good luck.
3 comments:
Holy smokes, this is unbelievable. I wonder what other apps are doing this.
When installing apps, always pay attention to the permissions requested. There is no reason for a flashlight app to need access to your contact list, or phone or SMS messaging, for example.
Also, have anti-virus software installed. Scan your phone for malware immediately after installing an app and on a regular basis,
Never install apps from 3rd party servers. Google or Apple only.
I try to limit my apps to those that I have immediate need for. If I don't need it anymore I get rid of it.
Finally, "updates" are a mixed blessing. They contain bug and security fixes which should be installed. They also open a vulnerability that a hacked or dishonest app developer can use to install malware/spyware/viruses at a future time.
This happened with an SMS messaging application I once installed. I was getting regular updates until my AV software caught it trying to install a virus. Messages to the developers were ignored. Which was okay because I immediately uninstalled it after it was detected and a full AV scan was run.
We live in an age where the crooks and grifters are thriving.
Clem K., thanks for your great advice.
I think I picked up a virus on my HTC smartphone. Hadn't thought about installing protection on it. Now I shall!
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