التكنولوجيا وأخبارها بوابة مصر لأخبار تكنولوجيا المعلومات والإتصالات
Kaspersky researchers have found that the number of applications capable of bombarding
users with unwanted advertising is increasing onofficial marketplaces. Threenew
applications with adware modules were found on the Google Play storein a span of just
three months, potentially affecting millions of users.
Adware – a form of unwanted software that displays ads to users – has been one of the
most popular not-a-virus threats for years. The monetization methods used in such software can pose a threat to users, and yet bring in more revenue for developers due to
greater viewership, with the latter adapting new techniques in order to make such ad modules harder to detect by both users and cybersecurity technologies. While threats that
target mobile users are usually distributed through various infected websites or unofficial app stores, income from such activities is appealing, leading to developers trying to expand
the number of potential victims they can target.As a result, these applications are at times able to get onto official app stores, as was the case with the samples found by Kaspersky.
Recent discoveries have indicated there has been a potential rise in this method being
used. Kaspersky researchers found three applications with inserted adware modules
available on official marketplaces.One of them, a popular interactive questionnaire with
millions of downloads, useda post-installation delay before showing ads that the
researchers have also seen in other adware applications.This long delay from installation of
the application to the first advertisement appearing made it much harder for the user to
find the culprit for all the ads that suddenly appeared on the screen. This technique is
frequently used to trick automatic protection mechanisms, such as sandboxes in app
stores. The developer of the interactive questionnaire application promptly removed the
adware module once informed.
Otheranalyzed applicationsaccount for almost a 100 million downloads.While carrying out
theirmain functionality, they are also sending users half-screen ads as soon as the smartphone is unlocked, regardless of whether the app is running or not. At the time of this
publication, developers of both of these apps have been contacted and have not responded to the requests to remove adware modules.
Thespread of adware is not always carried out on purpose, and even legitimate applications
can be vulnerable and end up spreading unwanted advertising without their knowledge. Most often this is due toof the use ofadvertising software development kits (SDKs) and lack
of testing an integrated advertising library.As a result, adware modules sneak into the final code of applications.
“Nowadays we heavily rely on our phones. We work, share personal information andwatch
entertainment – all on our mobile devices.Obviously, this attracts adware creators’ attention. The problem here is that adware does not create usability inconveniences that
frustrate users; it also – with improperly developed SDKs – could result in data leakages. As an additional way of monetization, developers of those SDKs may profit from selling user
data relevant for targeting purposes to third parties to customize ads they are showing to users, without their permission. Every user has their digital comfort zone and relying on
their own device nowadays is more important than ever,” comments Igor Golovin, security expert at Kaspersky.“Considering the new techniques used by developers to stop users
detecting adware, I strongly advise using a reliable mobile security solution that will be able to stop such applications from invadingusers’ lives”.
To protect yourself from adware Kaspersky recommends:
• Promptly removing an application that is acting unusually and displays unwanted
advertising;
• Always check application permissions before installing the application to see what they
can access and do on a device;
• Use of a reliable mobile security solution, such as Kaspersky Internet Security for
Android, that can help detect a variety of threats, including adware
