Malicious apps like fleeceware were caught by security company Sophos on the App Store, according to a report released on Wednesday (8). Fleeceware it consists of apps that offer relatively simple services (such as photo editing or making a birth chart) by signing up for a free trial period. The scam happens when the user forgets to cancel the test before the end of the gratuity and, then, he is charged subscriptions with values ​​above the normal.
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According to Sophos research, 30 fleecewares at the Apple app store that, added together, have been downloaded more than 3.5 million times. Until then, threats of the type fleeceware s had been detected in the Play Store, the Google store for Android devices.
App Store contains frequently downloaded fleecewares Photo: Marvin Costa / dnetc
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The term fleeceware it was coined by Sophos itself in September, when the cybersecurity company began to observe the behavior of this threat. While initial analyzes found its presence only in the Play Store, a new report indicates that the threat has also infiltrated the App Store, iPhone (iOS) and iPad store.
Among the 30 fleecewares discovered by Sophos, many offer common functions such as reading a QR code, editing photos with filters and effects, and astrological services for reading by hand or birth chart. However, although most of them are labeled "free" on the App Store, many presented, at the first login, a form for the user to enter data from the credit card in order to use the app for a free trial period that usually lasts. three to seven days.
Since subscriptions charged for fleecewares they are expensive, a forgotten person, for example, is at risk of being a victim by not canceling the registration before the end of the gratuity. Numbers from Sophos show that some of the apps analyzed offered plans of US $ 30 (about R $ 156) per month or US $ 9 (R $ 46.80, in direct conversion) per week.
Fleeceware apps on the App Store
- Seer App: Face, Horoscope, Palm
- Selfie Art Photo Editor
- Palmistry Decoder
- Lucky Life Future Seer
- Life Palmistry AI Palm & Tag
- Picsjoy-Cartoon Effect Editor
- Aging seer Faceapp, Horoscope
- Face Aging Scan-AI Age Camera
- Face Reader Horoscope Secret
- Horoscope Secret
- CIAO Live Video Chat
- Astro Time & Daily Horoscope
- Video Recorder / Reaction
- Crazy Helium Funny Face Editor
- Banuba: Face Filters & Effects
- QR Code Reader Scanner
- QR Code Reader & Barcode PRO
- Max Volume Booster
- Face Reading Horoscope 2020
- Forecast Master 2019
- mSpy Lite Phone Family Tracker
- Fortunescope: Palm Reader 2019
- Zodiac Master Plus Palm Scan
- WonderKey-Cartoon Avatar Maker
- Avatar Creator Cartoon Emoji
- iMoji Cartoon Avatar Emojis
- Life Insight-Palm & Animal Face
- Curiosity Lab-Fun Encyclopedia
- Quick Art: 1-Tap Photo Editor
- Astroline astrology, horoscope
- Celeb Twin Who you look like
- My Replica Celebrity Like Me
Play Store also features fleeceware Photo: Rodrigo Fernandes / dnetc
The first step in suspecting fleeceware question whether the service offered is really worth paying for. Malicious applications do not usually have unusual functions. As the list above indicates, they generally offer photo filters, hand reading and creating avatars, and such features are already available for free at app stores by trusted manufacturers.
In addition, it is recommended to avoid signing up for a free trial period, however tempting they may be. It is safest to rely only on the temporary gratuity offered by brands already well known in the market. Another important point to pay attention to the star rating of the app in the store. Many of fleecewares observed by Sophos presented dissatisfied reviews that denounced the dangerous behavior of apps.
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