Warn 6 apps that are silently tracking you on Android and iPhone

Dangerous apps can come in many forms – but there are six you should watch out for. A leading cyber expert told The US Sun how an Android or iPhone malware will often act as a legitimate app. But they are silently stealing your information or money. Worse, malware apps can regularly slow down your Android or iPhone — and even drain your battery. Dr Klaus Schenk, Senior Vice President, Security and Threat Research at Verimatrix, explains five common types of apps commonly used to install malware on phones. “The bad guys often have different tactics to hide malware or spyware in seemingly innocuous applications,” Dr Klaus said. “A common approach is to embed malware in ‘dropper’ applications, which can then silently install malicious code on the device.” “Common categories of apps known to contain malware include PDF Readers, calculators, converters, games, and QR code readers.” But that’s not all. There’s also a sixth category of downloads you should look out for: popular apps. Often cybercriminals will disguise their malicious apps as popular apps like WhatsApp or Twitter. Another method is to repackage legitimate apps, such as popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, by injecting malware that abuses users’ trust into familiar apps. belonging,” warned Dr Klaus. “To protect themselves from these dangers, users should use the official platform app store, and avoid apps from unofficial and untrusted sources.” “And carefully read user comments that mention any scams.” If you notice an app behaving strangely, check its activity and the permissions it has been granted in the settings. It’s best to delete an app if you think it’s suspicious – especially if you never or rarely use it.