Tag Archive for: download

S’pore police: Don’t download files from unknown sources on phones, risks of losing private pics & vids, banking & social media credentials real – Mothership.SG

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The Singapore police and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) has issued an advisory to remind the public of the dangers of downloading files from unknown sources that can lead to malware installation on victims’ mobile devices.

This may result in confidential and sensitive data, such as banking credentials, being stolen.

Don’t download things from sketchy sources

The advisory said malware may infect mobile devices through various means, including through the downloading of free software from unknown sources, opening of unknown email attachments and visiting of malicious websites.

Users should also be wary if they are asked to download unknown or suspicious Android Package Kit (APK) files onto their mobile devices.

This files may appear with seemingly genuine naming conventions, such as GooglePlay23Update.apk or GooglePlay.apkUpdate.apk.

These are not official APK files released by Google even though they contain the references to “GooglePlay”, the advisory warned.

Plenty of risks

Upon installation of the mobile malware, users’ mobile devices may be exposed to the following risks:

• Significant decline in the mobile devices’ performance

• Unauthorised access to the mobile devices’ systems/ data that allow attackers to remotely control infected mobile devices, possibly resulting in loss of user control

• Unauthorised installation or uninstallation of applications

• Interception of SMSes

• Receipt of unwanted push notifications or warnings

• Exfiltration of confidential and sensitive data stored in infected mobile devices such as banking credentials, stored credit card numbers, social media account credentials, private photos and/ or videos, among other information.

Attackers can use such information to gain unauthorised access to users’ social media accounts to perpetrate impersonation scams or perform fraudulent financial transactions that results in reputational and monetary losses.

Prevention methods

Members of the public are advised to take the following steps to ensure that their mobile devices are adequately protected against malware:

• Only download and install…

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You may not care where you download software from, but malware does

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One of the pieces of advice that security practitioners have been giving out for the past couple of decades, if not longer, is that you should only download software from reputable sites. As far as computer security advice goes, this seems like it should be fairly simple to practice.

But even when such advice is widely-shared, people still download files from distinctly non-reputable places and get compromised as a result. I have been a reader of Neowin for over a couple of decades now, and a member of its forum for almost that long. But that is not the only place I participate online: for a little over three years, I have been volunteering my time to moderate a couple of Reddit’s forums (subreddits) that provide both general computing support as well as more specific advice on removing malware. In those subreddits, I have helped people over and over again as they attempted to recover from the fallout of compromised computers. Attacks these days are usually financially motivated, but there are other unanticipated consequences as well. I should state this is not something unique to Reddit’s users. These types of questions also come up in online chats on various Discord servers where I volunteer my time as well.

One thing I should point out is that both the Discord and Reddit services skew to a younger demographic than social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. I also suspect they are younger than the average Neowin member. These people grew up digitally literate, and have had access to advice and discussions about safe computing practices available since pre-school.

A breakdown in communications

Despite having the advantage of having grown up with computers and information on securing them, how is it that these people have fallen victim to certain patterns of attacks? And from the information security practitioner’s side, where exactly is the disconnect occurring between what we’re telling people to do (or not do, as the case may be), and what they are doing (or, again, not doing)?

Sometimes, people will openly admit that they knew better but just did a “dumb thing,” trusting the source of the software when they knew wasn’t…

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Tops apps Android users should download now to get most secure coverage on their device

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THE very best apps for secure Android usage have been revealed by users across the internet.

Complex software is helping to meet the numerous security needs that come with safely using these devices.

Androids are at risk for getting hacked, but these app's have your phone's back

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Androids are at risk for getting hacked, but these app’s have your phone’s back

Regardless which Android phone you have, extra security features can only help safe smartphone use, SecurityDegreeHub (SDH) reported.

The following apps can help you meet your safety concerns.

AVAST

Avast offers up a free download, and paying a monthly subscription will give you access to the desired features.

They give you protection from malware, phishing, spyware, and damaging viruses such as Trojans.

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With the use of the Anti-Theft feature, subscribers can track their phone’s location and even control it remotely, according to SDH, while the “Sandbox” function acts as virus prevention.

Another plus is that iPhones can also use it, so if you like the app, pass it on to your Apple-cult friends.

LOOKOUT

Similar to Avast, Lookout is around to provide Android users with a one-stop-shop security experience.

In addition to covering all the basics, like phishing, malware, and even phone tracking, a System Advisor will check your OS to make sure root operations are functioning as they should.

Those needing an extra boost of protection can even get $1million Identity Theft Insurance for those with extensive risk, like security executives, according to SDH.

ORBOT

Orbot is a free proxy app, and it is available to use for anyone 12 or older.

A huge focus of Orbot’s is to encrypt your internet browsing information, with the use of several computers SDH said.

This encryption process makes internet browsing private, so watching and messaging anything you’d like remains for your eyes only.

The app is 100 percent free, and it was put forth by the Guardian Project, which focuses on protecting and masking the identities of internet users who wish to keep their treasured information non-public.

Source…

How to install McAfee Mobile Security for Android

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