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>I can assume it's a similar situation in Russia and those malicious apps are distributed through some local app stores. Can somebody from Russia comment on tha
by mjolk 13y ago
>I can assume it's a similar situation in Russia and those malicious apps are distributed through some local app stores. Can somebody from Russia comment on that?
It's usually harmless, 'cheaper-feeling' versions of popular applications. The malware that's being downloaded here is closer to getting a user to download a game that's similar to something popular -- think 'Minecraft Tips and Tricks App'
- zalew 13y agoYeah, but where are they distributed - some Russian app stores or international ones? If local, then people are not aware Russia and Ukraine are cracker/malware superpowers? :)
- guard-of-terra 13y agoI think there aren't any big Russian app stores (Yandex Store comes to mind but it's not big yet). I've seen numerous reports of Google Play apps being served with malware / showing malware-triggering ads. So it's cat and mouse even with international stores.
- zalew 13y agoYeah, sadly. But at least Google has the resources to learn on false negatives. There have been a few malware scandals, but they are usually cut off short in bulk just after exposed. I doubt smaller stores are able to perform that well in this area, not to mention that those Russian ones probably are the scammers themselves as the phones have non-google app stores unlocked and it only takes a spammy redirect. All that said, as you mentioned in the other comment - the root of the problem are cell companies, if not for them, the premium sms problem wouldn't exist.
- mjolk 13y agoApp store, via being led through affiliate links to the data source, or via exploits in default software. You can peddle malware through the official play store for a while until you get caught -- at which point, you rename the application, register a new dev account, and keep going. I don't know where the servers are physically located, nor does it matter.