Most of us think nothing at all of downloading apps, especially when, as far as we know, the app is legitimate. You would think that Netflix would be a perfectly safe app to download, but hackers have added a new wrinkle in the whole game.Netflix is one of the most popular apps in the world with more than 44 million users in 41 countries, so, needless to say, this is a pretty big one.

The malware in this fake app can actually leave you very vulnerable on many levels.For one thing, the folks hacking into your phone will have access to your phone's camera as well as the microphone and messages. But the problems don't end there.

Once you've downloaded the fake Netflix app, people will have access to just about everything you do. They can take pictures of you and even listen in to your conversations.

Shivang Desai, is a security researcher for the company that discovered the bug and he says that while real apps for Android are very popular,:

But the apps, with their many millions of users, have captured the attention of the bad actors, too, who are exploiting the popularity of Netflix to spread malware.'

 

What happens when you open up this phony app? Well, according to the Daily Mail:

When the user clicks on the spyware's icon for the first time, nothing seems to happen, and the icon disappears from the home screen.

This makes the user think that the app may have been removed, but in actual fact, the malware is preparing an onslaught of attacks.

Once the device is infected, hackers can activate the microphone and listen in to live conversations. They can also control the device themselves, copying files from the device to a Command and Control center.

The bottom line is really very simple. Just don't down load any 3rd party apps.

 

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