Malware Alert: Fake Biophilla App for Android Will Steal Your Money

Biophilla is a well-known app that was created by Björk to let users experience the connection between music, nature, and technology through 10 different in-app explorations. The app features exclusive and original content that artsy types will love, although there's no doubt that Android users probably felt left out in the cold since it was only made available on iOS.

Or is it? A Biophilla app for Android made an appearance on various third-party app download sites lately, so if you're planning to download it for your smartphone anytime soon--we're here to tell you don't!

As you may have guessed already, the Android Biophilla app is a fake one that's loaded with malware. It's similar to the malware that infected the phones of users who downloaded the Android versions of Instagram and Angry Birds Space.

Once installed, the malware runs in the background of the fake app (which doesn't really work, by the way) to send expensive, international text messages that will obviously be charged to the oblivious user's account.

The app itself comes in two parts: the front-end, which has the ability to stream songs, and a background service with the name ‘Market'. Upon examination of the background service (designed to activate every time the phone starts) it appears to belong to theAndroid.Golddreamfamily of threats. The authors of this family of threats are known to target third-party apps with malicious versions of popular apps, drawing revenue from premium SMS scams.

-- Symantec

A word of advice: if an app is only available for iOS and you suddenly find an Android version of it, skip it and wait for an official release. And once again, never download or install anything that isn't verified as authentic.

Article by Hazel Chua
Gigadgetry: Cool Gadgets, Tech News, Quirky Devices