Installing an app from any other than the official app store for your respective mobile device is risky - as a current study has shown.
Most mobile apps are downloaded from the official manufacturer store, i.e. the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Yet not all apps are available from the original store for your respective mobile device, since before publishing any apps, device manufacturers check whether they comply with certain quality and security criteria.
Some users therefore like to buy from third party app stores to obtain items not officially authorised, such as special games. Just how risky this is, has been shown by a study undertaken by the “RiskIQ” security company. Stores such as “9Game.com”, “Feralapps”, “Vmallapps”, “Xiaomi” and “Zhushou” offer a high percentage of harmful apps. With some 61,700 malicious apps, the “9Game.com” Android portal has been identified as the store offering most infected items.
If you use any unofficial stores, you run the risk of downloading some kind of malware to your mobile device sooner or later - for instance banking Trojans which will capture access data or manipulate payments without you noticing. Protect your smartphone or tablet by only ever installing apps from official stores!
