- Hackers are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic by releasing dangerous malware disguised as COVID-19 tracking apps.
- Don’t download any unfamiliar Android apps outside of the Google Play store, especially if they’re related to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Microsoft has released an actual COVID-19 tracker that is being updated all the time, so it’s a great tool to use instead of tracking apps from unknown developers.
- Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.
As cities, states, and entire countries shut down in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, people all over the world are desperately trying to stay informed and keep themselves and their families safe. Unsurprisingly, apps are popping up left and right to disseminate information and provide helpful tips, but perhaps even less surprisingly, at least one of those apps is loaded with ransomware as hackers attempt to take advantage of the situation.
Late last week, DomainTools reported that a domain was claiming to offer a real-time coronavirus outbreak tracker that Android users could download to their devices outside of the Google Play store. Of course, the truth of the matter was that the app was a scam, and is capable of denying users access to their phones by forcing a password change. This is a fairly common “screen-lock attack,” and the app has been appropriately dubbed CovidLock.
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Beware: New coronavirus tracking app infects phones with malware originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 16 Mar 2020 at 14:38:35 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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