Today, Lookout is reporting that they have found a new family of malware that has been running rampant throughout Google Play called, BadNews. BadNews was found on a total of 32 applications on Google Play and through statistics, is said to have been downloaded roughly 2 million to 9 million times. 

Depending on who you talk to, Android as an operating system may or may not have an issue with malware, spyware and viruses. We typically operate under the idea that it in no way has a problem, but that there are plenty of security companies out there willing to tell you otherwise. To be fair, though, there have been cases of malware or viruses in Android apps, most simply aren’t found anywhere near the Google Play store. If they are found, it’s usually through alternative 3rd party markets or pirated apps. 

A number of our readers with DROID 3 phones (and one Incredible owner) along with various forums, are reporting that a mysterious app showed up as installed on their phones within the last day or two. At one point the app carried a person’s name, like “Brett Henderson” and “Timothy Milla,” but changed today to “Souper Android Development.” The troubling part of this story is that the app can not be uninstalled, doesn’t even show as an installed app, and no one can explain how it got there in the first place.

We aren’t sure at this time what exactly this app is capable of or if it is in fact malicious, but a name-changing, uninstallable app certainly shouldn’t excite you. Also, as you can tell from the screenshots, our tipster is rooted, so there is a chance this app made it’s way onto his phone by taking advantage of that. However, this seems to be widespread enough that it could have happened through other means and not just on rooted phones. We are still trying to find out if this app made its way onto non-rooted phones. 

As Android is growing across the globe and reports of malware scares reportedly rise, mobile security companies are making sure that consumers are aware and that they would like them to be concerned. To make the situation seem worse, the number of Android apps and daily Android activations are growing by record numbers, so it’s only natural that these reports of malware detection would increase. That’s where we get a new Android security player to review on the daily. 

Moments ago, Google unveiled a security service that has been working behind the scenes on Android for a few months now, codenamed Bouncer. The service allows the Android Market to scan apps that have been uploaded, analyze them for trojans or other malware, and then determine if they have tendencies that would lead them to misbehave. Again, this has been going on for months to protect you, Google is just now letting you know about how successful it has been. 

If stressing over malware on Android is something that you enjoy on a daily basis, the crew responsible for Lookout Security has a new release that will satisfy your needs. Their newest app titled Mobile Threat Tracker takes the last few day’s security threats that their security products have identified and displays them in a visually stunning, rain shower-ish, globe rotating manner. You can view the top threats, tap to view more info on them, and then decide for yourself if you believe that there is actually a Malware problem in Android. Is there? I’m not ready to buy into yet, but hey, the app looks snazzy.

Market Link

CA Technologies discovered a new type of Android Trojan that drops a “config” file onto your device after being installed that can record phone conversations.  ”ZOMG! The world is coming to an end!”  Yeah, that was extreme sarcasm.  You see, with no major device releases expected this week, we’ve resorted to talking about stories like this.  Stories of random malware/trojans that another security company has discovered in an app from an unknown source that could ruin your day should it get installed.  Of course, you would have to visit another of those shady 3rd party app stores that hawk paid apps for free in order for this to go down, but you already know that.

So what do we make of this?  As we have already mentioned a half dozen times now, AVOID SHADY 3RD PARTY APP STORES.  Support your damn developers in legitimate markets.

Via:  CA, ZDNet

GG Tracker is a new Trojan which has recently been discovered by the lovely people over at Lookout. If users are infected by the Trojan, they are directed to an imitation of the Android Market on their mobile, to download a free app. Once it is downloaded it unknowingly goes to work by signing you up for a ton of premium SMS services, and it’s all downhill from there. Lookout has done a very extensive write up on what it is, how it works, and how to avoid it. Tim Wyatt of Lookout writes:

Lookout has identified a new Android Trojan, GGTracker, which is automatically downloaded to a user’s phone after visiting a malicious webpage that imitates the Android Market.  The Trojan is able to sign-up a victim to a number of premium SMS subscription services without the user’s consent.  This can lead to unapproved charges to a victim’s phone bill.

Have you all been browsing bad websites? Let me just say that this issue could seriously be alleviated if we all just took two seconds and make sure that what we’re browsing is such a good idea. If you’re on the Android market’s website, you better see “Android Market” somewhere in the URL.