![]() ![]() The domain that hosts the ad and download was registered through a service that shields the owners’ contact information.īut PCWorld also found other top free Android OS games delivering similar misleading battery warnings via ads. No contact information for the publishers appears within the app itself. What do the makers of Battery Doctor/Battery Upgrade have to say about their apps? We couldn’t find them. “There is no question in my mind that this technique could be used for something far more sinister than a worthless battery app.” Worse, the ad links to step-by-step instructions on how to lower your phone’s security settings to install the battery utility, Brandt says. Lastly it periodically transmits changes to the user’s private information and phone-hardware details to its servers. Once the battery app is installed the program sends the phone ads that appear in the drop down status bar of the phone at all times – whether the app is running or not. ![]() ![]() With a phone user’s name, IMEI, and wireless account information, an attacker could clone the phone and intercept calls and SMS messages, or siphon money from a user by initiating premium calls and SMS services. The installer program for the app, Battery Upgrade, downloaded automatically.Brandt says that one Android battery app, called both Battery Doctor and Battery Upgrade, is particularly problematic: Not only does it not upgrade a battery or extend a charge, but when it’s installed and unlocked, it harvests the phone’s address book, the phone number, the user’s name and email address, and the phone’s unique identifying IMEI number. This ad popped up when we tapped on an ad displayed in the Android version of the game Scrabble. Phone users aren’t yet concerned about viruses on their phones, but they are worried about their battery being sucked dry. Why use battery ads as a ploy? They tap into a common anxiety, Brandt says. ![]()
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February 2023
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