2y ago

Android spyware with over 1.5 million downloads sends your data to China

www.yahoo.com

Android spyware with over 1.5 million downloads sends your data to China — delete these apps right now

Two file management apps on the Google Play Store have been discovered to be spyware that quietly sends user data to servers in China.

53 comments

The fishy apps are File Recovery & Data Recovery and File Manager, according to an alert this week from Pradeo, a leading mobile cybersecurity company. The apps, both from the same developer, are programmed to launch without any input from the user and quietly send sensitive user data to servers based in China.
- Thank you for posting this, since OP wasn't kind enough to include it in the post description.
  
  OP is a bot account apparently.
You mean Threads?
Yes I know... The cheapest shot.
- ...Why would Threads send your data to China? They make plenty of money off that data domestically.
- Got em
- This is interesting, I cannot reply to iAmTheTot’s comment, but there’s no issue commenting on any other comments. Is it because they’re on kbin?
  
  Yes, replying to kbin doesn't seem to work
I'm sure it was an honest mistake. Who hasn't tried setting up a println("Hello World") and accidentally forwarded all their keylogger data to the CCP?
- my bad, completely forgot to remove that debugging code…
Bot account. sigh.
And yet the article doesn't say which File Manager is the spyware or what the dev is called. Great reporting.
- 🤔
- The apps are named in the second paragraph my guy. Literally did not have to scroll after clicking the link to prove you wrong.
  
  Even on a quick glance you can find literally 4 apps called "File Manager" and if you scroll further I'm sure there will be even more.
Why is it bad to send data to China and not to US?
- Who said the US wasn't bad?
  This is just a strawman argument, just because we're talking about being lit on fire does not mean the alternative of being dipped in acid is good but you know I'd rather not be simultaneously lit on fire while being dipped in acid if I can help it.
Any electronic device with any software sends any data to anyone who pays.

53 comments