Research Apps Before Installing, Some Spread Malware

In October of 2014 a flashlight app for smartphones made the news. The story went that an app that you can download to your device is really spying on you; stealing your information and sending it off to servers in other lands for bad guys to use for their own purposes. Recently, a company that was mentioned in those stories settled a lawsuit with the FTC where the FTC claimed it was collecting and distributing data unnecessarily. Likely, because of that settlement, this “news” is circulating once again.

However, this story was largely exaggerated and should be taken with a grain of salt. The original reports claimed that a security company found that the top ten flashlight apps were malware and were getting permissions to parts of your phone, like the GPS, camera, microphone, etc. and sending off your sensitive data, such as banking credentials to servers in China or Russia, or both.

While any app asking for permissions that seem strange is normal, it doesn’t necessarily mean the apps are malware or even dangerous. In fact, many apps ask for permissions just because they can. It’s up to the consumer to decide what apps to download and what permissions to grant to those apps.

So pay attention when you’re setting up the apps. If you do download a flashlight or weather app, for example, it really doesn’t need permission to your camera or microphone (unless of course you are posting photos to the app). In the case of maps or weather apps, however, they will ask for GPS access to be more accurate. If it’s asking to use an internet connection, it could merely be because it wants to download ads, particularly if the app is free.

While we hate to be all-exclusive, but realistically unless you are a very advanced user or an app developer, needing administrator rights for an app is rare. Just keep that in mind as a rule. If it asks for that, it probably really is malware (or up to no good) and you certainly don’t want that. So, delete that app immediately and report it to the app store.

If you have an Android device, you are somewhat limited as to what you can do with granting or revoking permissions. The iPhones are much more flexible this way. If you are not 100% sure that you need that app, it’s better not to put it on your device. Seriously consider what apps you really want or need on your devices. The fewer you have, the less exposure to malicious activity. As a bonus, the fewer apps you have, the more space you have for photos!

Remember that especially with free apps, they often do collect a certain amount of data and sell it to advertisers and marketers. So, if you don’t want that to happen, reconsider using free apps.

Always do your research on any software or app you download to your systems. Any of them may contain malware these days, so get them from reputable sources, only from your official app stores, and always keep your devices up-to-date with the latest versions of the operating systems. When patches or fixes are released, make sure to get them applied right away.

And if you have an iPhone and it has a built-in flashlight app, you can be confident that it isn’t malware. So feel free to use it.