General Chat

Britons with Android smartphones and tablets have been urged to watch out for fake software updates that could give away passwords, financial information and even let criminals take control of their devices.
Computer security company McAfee warned it had noticed a spate of malware trojans originally from Brazil targeting the Google Play Store and trying to trick users into downloading them.
In Britain, where phones with the Android operating system account for almost half of the market, people have also been told to be on the lookout.
So-called 'BRATAs', or Brazilian Remote Access Tool Android, originally appeared in the South American country in 2018, according to McAfee, and became widespread from January 2019.
Now spreading elsewhere, these RATs pose as security apps which tell their users they need to update their software, whether that is a search engine like Google Chrome, a messaging app like WhatsApp or even a PDF viewer.
However, rather than updating these apps, they install malicious software, malware, which allows criminals to take control of devices.
According to McAfee, these trojans can display phishing websites which are used to harvest financial details which can be used to steal money or commit identity theft; and can directly capture lock screen details like a password or keystrokes through keylogging software. They can even introduce screen recording software.
The company said it had found at least five malicious apps in the Google Play store, where Android users can download everything from Candy Crush to TikTok, which were capable of such actions.
Most were downloaded between 1,000 and 5,000 times, but one had as many as 10,000 downloads.
Of the ones McAfee said it had found, the first was discovered in May and the latest last October, all of which had been removed by Google from its store.
They all posed as security software, calling themselves names like 'PrivacyTitan' and 'SecureShield'.
While they initially targeted Brazilians or other Portuguese speakers with Android phones, these malicious apps have become more widespread.
'In June we noticed that threat actors behind BRATA started to add support to other languages like Spanish and English, McAfee said in a blog post published on Monday.
'Depending on the language configured in the device, the malware suggested that one of the following three apps needed an urgent update: WhatsApp (Spanish), a non-existent PDF Reader (Portuguese) and Chrome (English).'
Although McAfee had not suggested these apps had become widespread in the UK, Britons living through a fraud epidemic which has stolen hundreds of millions of pounds during the pandemic were urged to be on their guard.
Impersonators throughout the coronavirus pandemic have posed as legitimate financial firms, parcel delivery companies, and even the NHS and the Government, using cheap number-spoofing software.
As a result, this could simply be the latest step. Ray Walsh, from the company ProPrivacy, said news of the spread of the 'sophisticated' trojan meant it was 'vital' those in the UK were warned they could be infected.
He said: 'By accepting and agreeing to accessibility services, the user installs a sophisticated banking trojan that gives the hacker full remote control over their device.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/beatthescammers/article-9470715/Warning-Android-smartphone-users-sophisticated-banking-trojan.html

I constantly get 'Apple' update requests on my laptop.
Problem is, it's not 'Apple'!


*Waits to be 'schooled' in technology*

What has an East Anglian motorway got to do with any of this ?

I know the A12 isn’t actually a motorway but it read better that way.

But why will it be toast?

You are wrong there RTR Essex is and so is Bedfordshire

SOURCE Google Maps

Lowestoft - the home of the East Anglian motor museum.

Anyway - still doesn’t explain why that road is toast or is the users of the road

shhhh fink he means dem secret coppers, not the thorofare

MOG!
You'd think he would know that a tiny slip like that in an interrogation and you are a gonner.

This thread is not about our lady the virgin mary either and I don't need a history lesson

I must be clairvoyant.

I posted this a couple of days ago on my 'Petting Zoo' Thread

"Well you weren't expecting a deep and philosophical discussion from one of my threads were you? %3A-D %3A-D

PS I also know nothing about modern technology %3B-%29"

:-D :-D :-D :-D

Eeeh - Allan - a hidden talent!! :-0 :-0 :-D

My view is-there are cars on the road, not everyone has to drive them.
Those that do drive them,don't have to know how to fix them - there are mechancs to do that - that's their forte.

If you ask a mechanic how to put oil into your car engine, and they go into the differentials, qualities and variations of the oils available, a condition commonly known as 'eye glaze', or 'brain turn off' occurs. Mechanics is their lust for life - not yours.
All you need to know is which oil to buy from the local supermarket, how to open the bonnet, and which oojamiflip you pour it into!

I still manage to confuse the radiator cap with the oil filler cap ;-)

Yes, oojamaflips can be confusing! :-)

Come come ! This thread isn’t about cars ;-). Unless they are on the A12 ;-) ;-)

Is that a router?

Hopefully the original post will have sent out the intended warning. :-D

It did,thank you, Ann. - and in language we mortals could understand! :-D :-D

:-D

Funnily enough we are connected to both the 4 and the six thingy.

Is that directly, or through marriage? ;-)

It’s definitely not via the A12 or even AC12.