Bogus Facebook apps spreading Android malware
Third-party Android markets have traditionally been the main source of infection since the Android boom, as they are less strict than the genuine Play when it comes to bouncing malware.
Today Gmanetwork reports that, Users of mobile devices running Google's Android OS were warned over the weekend against a new fake app of the social networking giant that may lead to potential Android malware. These duplicated applications have the same behavior as their original counterparts (in terms of functionality), but they perform a http 302 redirect to another link, that's not Facebook-related, when they detect mobile traffic.
What's most concerning is that many of the fake app-based malwares in circulation have purported to be legitimate copies of some of the most popular titles around. No sooner were Android users on red alert for a dodgy Angry Birds Space app, were they informed of a phony Instagram app wreaking havoc through some of the unverified mediums.
The fake apps claim to scan a user's Facebook contacts and list all the potential girlfriends or boyfriends among the user's friends. BitDefender said that while cross-site scripting is nothing new, this is one of the few times when a direct correlation between Facebook and promoting Android apps via redirecting mobile traffic has been reported.
This could be the beginning of paid promotions through Facebook, where Android app developers can actually subscribe to have their apps promoted via Facebook by means of illegitimate services.
