Clicking On Shady Links To Download Apps Is A Super Easy Way To Get Your Phone Hacked
Listen, it’s not like we’re trying to be nags, here. It’s just that it is so very easy for n’er-do-wells to hack into your private life and we want to make sure you’re safe and sound. We’re not the only ones to drive home this point, as one security expert shows with a simple hack he made that looks like an app but is really an insidious, spying piece of malware.
CNNMoney had Kevin McNamee of Kindsight Security Labs run through an example of just how easy it can be for hackers to gain access to your phone’s contents — your personal info, contacts and exact location — as well as take photos of you and record conversations on an Android phone.
All it takes is a phone user clicking on a malicious link to download an app, or perhaps downloading an app you think is real but it turns out to be a faked version, just to get that malware in the door.
Once you’re happily playing away, something like McNamee’s Trojan Horse hack can get busy delving into your life. Both Google and Apple recommend only downloading apps from their official stores to protect yourself from such an intrusion. In addition, don’t click on a link from someone you don’t know telling you to download anything, especially apps.
Check out the video in the source link below.
Hack allows snooping on Android phones [CNNMoney]
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.