A report from the cybersecurity company Upstream, released on Monday (23), revealed that Weather Forecast, the weather forecasting application for Android, has returned to digital shopping without the consent of users. First discovered in January, the Chinese TCL Communications app has been removed from the Google Play Store and has been inactive for a few months, but has made at least 34 million new suspicious transaction attempts. The program comes pre-installed on some Alcatel phones.
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Graphic shows increase in number of malicious weather forecast app activities Photo: Divulgao / Upstream
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The first complaint also covered the collection of consumer data without its authorization. After two months of inactivity, the Secure-D mobile security platform developed by Upstream In order to detect and combat advertising fraud, it has identified and blocked 34 million new attempts at transactions linked to the weather app, called "Weather Forecast: Precise World Weather Radar" in the Brazilian store.
Still according to the digital security company, only the version of the application pre-installed on Alcatel PIXI4 devices tried to enroll about 700,000 consumers in premium services without consent in a period of six months. "It seems that lightning actually falls twice in the same place. This weather app kept a low profile until the storm passed, and after that, it went back to doing the same thing with a spike in its fraudulent behavior just a few months ago. after being denounced, "stated the CEO of Upstream, Guy Krief.
Weather Forecast comes pre-installed on some Alcatel phones Photo: Nicolly Vimercate / dnetc
Krief also said apps like this have the ability to generate billions of dollars in fraudulent advertising revenue. As a result, users are affected by unwanted charges and the performance of their handsets, whose data consumption increases without them knowing why.
O dnetc He contacted TCL's staff, but there was no return at the time of this publication.
THE Upstream advises users of PIXI4 devices and others who download the app to check their phones for unusual behavior. In addition to always being aware of malware, I also need to check all invoices for possible improper charges. Also always important to keep antivirus software installed on your smartphone, to prevent any attacks see the best options for Android in 2019.
* Collaborated Rubens Achilles
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