It is stories like this that make me glad I am a Windows Phone user.
It was recently discovered that Android has had a major security hole since version 1.6, which allowed hackers to modify almost any Play Store app and turn it malicious without tripping the built-in security measures. The good news for Android users is that the that hole has already been plugged and the fix has been sent out to OEMs (Google was made aware of the issue in February, so it has had time to fix it).
Google claims that it has not seen any app from the Play Store (or other app stores for that matter) that have been affected by this vulnerability.
The Play Store itself scans the apps it offers and the Verify App feature (new in 4.2) scans all apps (even if you installed them from elsewhere).
Samsung and some other OEMs are reportedly already shipping devices that contain the fix. Current devices will have to wait for an update, which has an uncertain timeframe as it depends on OEMs and then carriers to push it out.
As with anything else, be cautious of what you download, not only on your PC, but on your mobile devices as well.
Samsung and some other OEMs are reportedly already shipping devices that contain the fix. Current Moviles android devices will have to wait for an update, which has an uncertain timeframe as it depends on OEMs and then carriers to push it out.
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