back to article 'Suspicious' Android wallpaper app nabs user data

An Android wallpaper application that collected data from users' phones and uploaded it to a site in China was downloaded "millions of times", according to mobile security firm Lookout. Kevin MaHaffey, chief technology officer at Lookout, used Jackeey Wallpaper as an example of the wider risk faced by smartphone users during a …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.

Page:

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Gates Halo

    A sign of success

    Malware means platform success; I bet Google is secrectly quite pleased.

  2. Obvious Robert
    FAIL

    F U D

    This story only made such a big splash due to the Lookout lot originally coming out with a scaremongering claim that the apps in question were stealing browsing and SMS history along with a load of other stuff and sending it to China. Turned out to be rather inaccurate - the apps developer responded saying that the app did indeed collect your subscriber identifier and phone number in order to allow a favourites system within the app that could resume after wiping your device (a feature that his users had in fact asked for) but it's never gone near browsing or SMS history.

    Lookout were then later forced to admit that no, the app didn't collect browsing or SMS history at all. And the fact that Lookout are a security firm that produce an Android app that claims to protect against malware and viruses (sorry, what viruses?) should not be lost on people.

    Lookout got what they wanted - a big steaming load of FUD, people have now heard of them and downloaded their app to protect against the evil Chinese hax0rs, and a load of tech blogs have been rightfully thoroughly embarrased for not checking their facts before joining in the hysteria.

Page:

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like