Protect Your Phone From Malware | @HotSpotShield

Protect Your Phone From Malware | @HotSpotShield

I am a Hotspot Shield Ambassador. All opinions are my own.

I’ve noticed a huge trend lately while policing my children’s purchases in the app store. They will search for a specific app, and hundreds will pop up. Innocently they will click on one that looks like the “real deal” and ask me for my password. On closer evaluation of their impending purchase I have noticed “hacks”, “cheats”, and apps that look like the game. Once downloaded they act funky and crash or re-direct the user to a strange website once loaded.

It’s frustrating to realize that this simple innocent looking app you downloaded might be the cause of your phone acting “wonky”. It may start sending strange text messages or even start ordering items on the internet. That simple download created a gateway for hackers.

It’s a game and hackers love to cause havoc.

How do mobile phones get attacked?

A study showed that 86 percent of Android malware employs “repackaging.”

How does an app get “repackaged”?

• An application will be downloaded 
• The hacker will decompile it
• Once decompiled the hacker will add malware to the program
• Then the app will be recompiled
• The hacker will change the apps name and then submit it back into public circulation
• So begins the cycle… someone will download this changed-name application, and the malicious payload infects their device.

Is Your Mobile Phone Infected?

• If your phone is behaving oddly or something is off it’s cause for suspicion. Sometimes the activity is very minor, sometimes very blatant such as the device sending your address book to a foreign IP address. To find out, hook your phone to Wi Fi and see where it’s sending information to.
• Watch your bill for unfamiliar charges. Malware on a phone will sometimes produce unauthorized charges. Your device is hooked to an accounting mechanism, making it a snap for thieves to send premium SMS text messages or make in-app purchases—which cost you money.

Unfortunately app stores do not have the time, resources or desire to provide an in-depth scan of  each and every app before offering them. You can stay on the safer side by only downloading from the iOS App Store or Google Play’s app store, but because there hasn’t been more research on the issue they cannot guarantee user protection.

Fortunately, device owners can protect their information by downloading a VPN like Hotspot Shield VPN. Using a program like this “blocks” your information and makes all of your web transactions secure through a https.