Good Lifestyle

If you are aAndroid user, there is a good chance that you are aware of the manyAdvantages that these phones offer, including a more affordable price and a headphone jack - whose new Apple iPhones are sadly lacking. The additional advantages include the variety of Android phones, allowing you to find one that meets your needs and your budget, and the possibility of easily widen your phone memory. But with all these amenities, there are necessarily drawbacks, many of which come in the form of warnings to users. Now Microsoft has added to these concerns, issuing an urgent warning to anyone who uses one of these smartphones. Read the rest to find out what the so -called technology giant could infect your phone and wallet.

Read this then:If you have an Android, you are now forbidden to do this on your phone.

Different warnings have been issued for Android users this year, experts expressing concerns about security threats related to application and software downloads. Last month, aGoogle Play Store Application was found to containPotentially dangerous malware, according to the reports ofThe sun. The popular application in question, Pip Pic Camera Photo Editor, was described as a tool to help retouch photos, but in fact had more sinister objectives. AccordingThe sun, the application would install malware and steal Facebook connection identification information, which can be used to commit online identity fraud, access additional accounts and send spam messages to your contacts. Unfortunately, before the threat was discovered and blocked by Google, it was downloaded by more than a million Android users.AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

Before that, the Kaspersky cybersecurity company also warned in May that threeApplications in the Google Play Store contentsTrojan style hacking software Known as "Jocker". And in April, a new version of a sadly famousAndroid carbatter malwowirs, "Octo", was discovered byFinancial cybersecurity company Threatfabric.

The most recent warning, however, came just before the fourth weekend in July. Microsoft, which provides malware protection via Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Android, issued an alert on another type of malware.

According to a blog article published by the research team on defender Microsoft 365 on June 30, Android users must be warytoll fraud malware. According to the post, this form of billing fraud occurs when applications subscribe to "premium services" to your knowledge and approval. This type of malicious software "continues to evolve," said the Microsoft team, and it has been one of the most widespread malware for Android users since 2017.

"By subscribing to premium services, this malicious software can lead victims to receive significant monthly invoice fees," the Microsoft team wrote in the blog post. "Affected devices also have an increased risk because this threat manages to escape detection and can carry out a certain number of installations before a single variant is deleted."

Stressing its prevalence, Microsoft confirmed that toll fraud represented 34.8% of potentially harmful (PHA) apps installed from Google Play Store during the first quarter of 2022.

RELATED:For more up-to-date information, register for our daily newsletter.

When downloading legitimate applications, the wireless application protocol (WAP) is a current payment mechanism used to subscribe to paid content, the costs billed directly to your phone bill. But toll fraud uses this form of invoicing to register for bonus services paid without your consent. Malware will disconnect from Wi-Fi (or wait to deactivate it), then use a cellular connection to initiate and confirm the subscription, using a unique password (OTP), if necessary. It also deactivates SMS text notifications, so you are not alerted from the fraudulent transaction and do not want, warns Microsoft.

And although this information can rush to check your latest phone bill, Microsoft has given advice to help keep your device and your protected current account.

In their blog article, the Microsoft 365 defender research team stressed that "user's prevention" is an integral part of your device.

"A basic rule is to avoid installing Android applications from unreliable sources," they wrote, adding that this practice is also called "key loading" and that applications should be strictly downloaded from Google Play Store or sources of trust.

In addition, do not grant SMS authorizations, access to the notification auditor or access to accessibility without firm understanding of the reason why the application may need it. According to Microsoft, these are "powerful authorizations" and are not necessary for general downloads.

The Microsoft team has also noted the importance of using solutions to detect malware and keep your Android device up to date. Addressing this, toll fraud malware in question currently targets phones running the Android 9 or lower operating system - which allows you to protect if your Android 10 or more device. Some Android phones also stop receiving updates, which means that you may want to consider exchanging for a new device that has additional protective measures.