You only ever obtain apps for your mobile device from the AppStore or PlayStore? That’s good – you should still remain wary there as well, though!
Criminals certainly don’t shrink from infiltrating these stores with apps containing malware. The “Harley” Trojan for instance managed to cause 4.8 million infections this way. This malware masquerades as a legitimate app, but subscribes to fee-based services in the background.
How to protect yourself and your mobile devices:
- You should generally only ever install apps from the official store (PlayStore or AppStore).
- Only ever install antivirus apps by well-known manufacturers, and make sure that these are official apps by reviewing the number of times they were downloaded and looking at their reviews.
- Install only apps you actually need, and de-install any apps you don’t need (any longer).
- Restrict access rights for each respective app to the absolute minimum.
- Make absolutely sure to use an antivirus app on your Android devices.
