New Trojan Malware called GGTracker Mimics Android Market to Trick Users

[dgstorm]

Developer's over at Lookout software have uncovered a new malware for Android that is extra nasty and sneaky. It's called GGTracker, and it is a Trojan that mimics the look of the Android Market in order to trick users into installing it. It looks just like the picture above for now, so as you can see it's pretty deceptive. Here's a quote from the AndroidCentral article describing how you can get infected, and how to prevent it,

It happens when you click a malicious in-app advertisement -- your browser opens to the URL in the image, looking just like the Market, in hopes that you'll install the fake (in this case a Battery Saver app) application. Also spotted was a version that claims to be an adult app (com.space.sexypic). After you click to install it, you're directed to install via the download notification. For now, it doesn't appear that this one is in the Android Market -- which means it might stay around for a while.

There are three easy ways to prevent this:

• Disable sideloading completely (or use AT&T as your carrier -- zing!)
• Use Lookout premium's Safe Browsing feature
• Pay attention to what's happening. The Android Market will never open in your browser. You'll also never be prompted to manually download an app from the Android Market.

We thought it was important to keep you guys informed on this so you can help your less tech-savvy friends and relatives stay protected. It's getting like the "old west" out there in Android-land, but as long as we band together we can defeat the vile bandits.

Source: Android.net via AndroidCentral

 

[scandata]

Thanks for this. My first Android tablet (an Acer Iconia A-500) is being delivered next week. I've been using PCs since the mid-90s but I'm new to the Android platform, so I'm trying to learn all the tips tricks, and caveats I can ahead of time.