Beware Of Malicious Pokemon GO Installing On Android Devices

Security firm Proofpoint, has discovered a malicious version of the Pokemon GO app. It installs a backdoor on Android phones, allowing hackers to completely compromise a user’s device. It was uploaded to an online malware detection repository on July 7th. To install it, a user needs to “side-load” the malicious app by disabling an Android security setting that normally prevents the installation of unverified third-party apps from “unknown sources.” If you’re unsure on whether you downloaded it or not, there are several ways to check. The infected version is granted more system permissions, so you can compare the permissions of your app to the real app. Another option is to compare the app’s SHA-1 hash, which is a long string of characters used to verify whether a file was modified by a malicious third-party. By doing so, you can see if it matches the hash of the real Pokemon GO app.