Google pulls infected apps from Android Market

Infected Android apps were pulled from the Android Market. Photo credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET News

The apps contained malware called DroidDream hidden in seemingly legitimate apps and were pulled on Tuesday, mobile security company Lookout said in a blog post on Wednesday. Between 50,000 and 200,000 users downloaded the infected apps, said the company.

"Unlike previous instances of malware in the wild that were only available in targeted alternative app markets, DroidDream was available in the official Android Market in addition to alternative markets, indicating a growing need for Android users to take extra caution when downloading apps," the blog post said.

Lookout did an analysis of one of the infected apps, Bowling Time, and found that once a user runs the program, sensitive data such as the International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI), the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) code, the device model and SDK version are sent to a command and control server.

The malware appears to open a backdoor into the device that can download more code, and it also seems to be able to send other sensitive data to the command and control server, said Lookout.

DroidDream uses two consecutive exploits to attempt to break out of the Android sandbox and gain root access: 'exploid' and 'rageagainstthecage'.

Google had no official statement at the time of writing. Previously, Google has said that the combination of the sandbox, user-authorised permissions and the ability for users to flag suspect software are sufficient security provisions to compensate for the dangers of allowing all developers to upload applications freely to the Android Market.

Hackers are targeting Android apps as the mobile platform gains in popularity, according to security company Symantec.

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More than 50 Android apps found infected with rootkit malware

Google Android ... beware of apps bearing malware

More than 50 applications on Google's Android Market have been discovered to be infected with malware called "DroidDream" which can compromise personal data by taking over the user's device, and have been "suspended" from the store.
Google removed the apps from the Market immediately on being alerted, but it is not clear whether it has removed them from devices to which they have been downloaded. As many as 200,000 Android devices could have been infected.
The revelation comes from Android Police, a news site on Google's operating system, which calls it "the mother of all Android malware", noting that its examination had found that it "steals nearly everything it can: product ID, model, partner (provider?), language, country, and userID. But that's all child's play; the true pièce de résistance is that it has the ability to download more code. In other words, there's no way to know what the app does after it's installed, and the possibilities are nearly endless."
Lookout, a security company, which in a blogpost lists the 50-plus apps discovered to be infected. (The list is also below, via Lookout.)
Smartphones running Google's Android software have become enormously popular and are reckoned to be close to taking over worldwide as the fastest-selling smartphone platform, ahead of Finland's Nokia. Its growth has been fuelled by the fact that the software is free to license, and for developers there is no charge or checks to putting apps on the Market – unlike Apple's iPhone App Store, which checks every app against a suite of tests for suitability before allowing it on its store.
That has led the Market to grow rapidly, but also makes situations like the latest one – which is not the first case of malware found on the Market – harder to avoid.
The malware was first discovered by a Reddit user, Lompolo, who spotted that the developer of one of the malware apps had also posted pirated versions of legit apps, using the developer name "Myournet". But two other developers' products have also been found to include DroidReam.
Lompolo noted that "Myournet" had "taken 21 popular free apps from the Market, injected root exploit [code] into them and republished". More worryingly, those had seen between 50,000 and 200,000 downloads altogether in just four days.
DroidDream contains code which can "root" – take complete control of – a user's decice, and send detailed information such as the phone's IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) and IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) numbers and send them to remote servers. But as Android Police's team found, the code can go much further in rooting through a phone.
It's a rather brutal reminder of the fact that Android's openness is both a strength and, at times like this, a weakness – though Google's rapid action, in which it pulled the apps from the Android Market within just five minutes of being alerted, is encouraging.
It now looks likely that security companies will begin to compete to offer antivirus and anti-malware products for Android devices – which, given its rapid growth, could prove a fertile area for them with PC sales flat.
If you have downloaded any of the apps below, you should contact your phone company.

 

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/mar/02/android-market-apps-malware

Google 'finds' missing G-mails on tape

Google now says just 0.02% of Gmail users were affected by the problem.

Google has apologised to customers who found their Gmail inboxes empty after accounts were accidentally wiped clean.

t said that the e-mails were "never lost" and that "things should be back to normal for everyone soon".

Many of the missing e-mails are backed up on tape, hence the delay in restoring them, the search giant said.

It blamed a software bug for the incident and said just 0.02% of Gmail customers were affected.

Initially it had said that less than 0.08% of its 170 million users had been affected.

"I know what some of you are thinking: how could this happen if we have multiple copies of your data, in multiple data centres?" asked Ben Treynor, Google's site reliability czar, in the firm's official Gmail blog.

"Well, in some rare instances software bugs can affect several copies of the data. That's what happened here," he added.

He said that Google backs up data on offline tapes, which are protected from software bugs.

"But restoring data from them takes longer than transferring your requests to another data centre, which is why it's taken us hours to get the e-mail back instead of milliseconds," he said.

"Thanks for bearing with us as we fix this, and sorry again for the scare," he signed off.

Source: BBC News

15 Best Google Android Apps for Newbies

If you just nabbed a new Android smartphone or tablet, or are coveting one, which apps should you download immediately? Check out these 15 picks.

Android Apps to Grab 

One of the best things about Google's Android mobile OS is the vast collection of crafty developers constantly working away on new mobile applications for Android phones and tablets. In other words, Android is all about the software. And there's certainly no shortage of Android apps.

As such, navigating Google's Android Market can be intimidating for new or beginner users, to say the least. So we handpicked 15 free Android apps that every Google phone or tablet owner, whether you're a newbie or power-user, could benefit from installing.

Keep moving for details and download links. (Note: The following apps were tested on a Motorola Atrix 4G running Android v2.2.1, but most should run on all new Android devices.)

Pandora Radio for Android 

A variety of cool, free Internet radio applications exist for the Android platform, but none offer the same quality music catalogue and customization options as the free Pandora for Android app. Pandora is easy to setup and use: Create and account, log in, simply pick an artist or band you like and the application creates a custom "station" based around that artist, with similar tunes, selected by other like-minded listeners.

Download Pandora Radio from the Android Market

Read more...

 Source: pcworld

GDC: Google Courts Game Devs with Free Cr-48 Laptops

Google wants game developers to delve into its browser-based Chrome OS badly enough that it's handing out free Cr-48 laptops to prove it.

Apparently Google's been handing out cards to developers attending its sessions at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. After attending the sessions, developers were able to redeem the cards for Cr-48 laptops.

Not bad, though perhaps not as desirable as the then-just-announced slimline Xbox 360s Microsoft mailed to everyone who signed up for its E3 press show last summer.

Why Cr-48? Cr, the scientific abbreviation for chromium, is actually 24th on the periodic table. Cr-48 is rather an isotope of chromium--a highly unstable version, in fact--thus Cr-48, Google's "beta" test of a Chrome OS device.

According to Information Week, during one of the sessions, Google software engineer Vincent Scheib highlighted the sorry state of affairs for online web-based gaming, pointing out deficiencies in current models. You know, like the fact that browsers can't even differentiate between the mouse input sent to operate a browser, and the sort first-person games need to translate to allow you to look around (in a 3D environment) in any direction.

Where's X3D (nee VRML) when you need it?

Source: TechRadar

Interact with Game On: Twitter - Facebook - Get in touch

See more like this: games, google, browsers

Google Gmail Snafu Lesson: Backup, Backup, Backup

Gmail is hard at work restoring service to about 40,000 Gmail users after a software bug deleted their e-mail messages, folders, labels and filters. So, while things are looking good for those users affected by the bug, this episode proves, once again, that while Web-based services may be robust, you still have to take responsibility for your own data.

Google also takes responsibility. Ben Treynor, Google's VP Engineering and Site Reliability Czar, said on Google's Gmail blog that Google backs up all Gmail to tape. "Since the tapes are offline, they're protected from such software bugs," he blogged. "But restoring data from them also takes longer than transferring your requests to another data center, which is why it's taken us hours to get the e-mail back instead of milliseconds."

Treynor said a storage software update introduced the unexpected bug, which caused 0.02% of Gmail users to temporarily lose access to their e-mail.

It's Not Just Google Services You Need to Worry About

However, it's not just Gmail and other Webmail services that are the problem; we're increasingly using cloud-based tools for work and communication such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, Microsoft Office Live, Tumblr, Wordpress, Blogger, Posterous, Flickr, Picasa, and on and on.

But that doesn't mean you should forego a solid back-up plan for all your online data. If the worst ever does happen, and a free Web service dumps your stuff permanently, the only response you can reasonably expect from these companies is: "oops, sorry."

With that in mind here are a few suggestions on how to add an extra layer of security in case the cloud lets you down one day.

Gmail and Friends

The easiest way to create a local back up of your e-mail is to use a basic POP3/IMAP e-mail client such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple's Mail app, or Windows Live Mail. If you don't like using an e-mail client for daily use and prefer to use the Web interface instead, just fire up your desktop program on a regular schedule. Even if you launch your desktop client once a month, you will at least have the bulk of your mail stored offline.

Facebook

Facebook recently launched a handy feature that lets you export almost all of your Facebook data into a handy ZIP file. All you have to do is visit Facebook's export tool and click the download button. Then you'll get an e-mail when your file is ready to download to your desktop. This is an ideal task to do once a month or even once every season. You don't want to lose all those mobile uploads should the worst happen, and it makes it much easier to move your data around should you wish to leave Facebook one day.

Blogging

The best way to save all the hard work you put into your blog posts is to save them on your hard drive before posting them to the cloud. Many blog writing programs are compatible with the most popular blogging platforms such as Blogger, Wordpress, or Tumblr. Mac users can use a blog writing program such as MarsEdit ($39.95), which saves a back-up of every blog post you write using the app. For Windows users, Microsoft's free Windows Live Writer will save your posts written using the program to a file in your Documents folder called "My Weblog Posts." Most blog services also have an export feature to download all the posts you've already written. Read more...

Gmail Glitch Wipes Out Tens of Thousands of Accounts

Tens of thousands of Gmail users found themselves locked out of their accounts Sunday, a glitch Google engineers were still struggling to fix and fully understand Monday. 

Initial reports suggested as many as half a million accounts were compromised, the e-mails collected over the years potentially permanently erased. Google acknowledged the issue at 3:09 p.m. EST Sunday; by Monday afternoon the company lowered the number of affected users to just 0.02% of accounts -- a small number that nonetheless translates into a large number accounts. 

Google has not said exactly how many users its e-mail service has, only that Gmail has "hundreds of millions" of users around the world. That would mean that tens of thousands -- 20,000 out of every 100 million -- of users were affected.

A Google spokesman told FoxNews.com Monday afternoon that all users would have their service back by the end of the day -- but it would be premature to speculate whether there would be any permanent data loss.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/28/gmail-glitch-wipes-150000-accounts/

Google Revamps to Fight Cheaters

By AMIR EFRATI

Google Inc., long considered the gold standard of Internet search, is changing the secret formula it uses to rank Web pages as it struggles to combat websites that have been able to game its system.

The Internet giant, which handles nearly two-thirds of the world's Web searches, has been under fire recently over the quality of its results. Google said it changed its mathematical formula late Thursday in order to better weed out "low-quality" sites that offer users little value. Some such sites offer just enough content to appear in search results and lure users to pages loaded with advertisements.

Google generates billions of dollars from advertising linked to its search engine, whose influence as a front door to the world's online content and commerce continues to grow by the year. Google's power over the fortunes of so many other companies has made it a target of competitor complaints. It has also faced government investigations, including scrutiny by regulators in the U.S. and Europe.
The Silicon Valley company built its business on the strength of algorithms that yield speedy results. The company constantly refines those formulas, and sometimes takes manual action to penalize companies that it believes use tricks to artificially rise in search rankings. In recent weeks, it has cracked down on retailers J.C. Penney Co. and Overstock.com Inc.
Last month, Google acknowledged it "can and should do better" to beat back sites that "copy content from other websites" or provide information that is "just not very useful" but are ranked highly anyway.
"I've never seen Google be attacked on the relevancy of their results the way they have these past couple of months," said Danny Sullivan, editor of a widely read blog about the field called Search Engine Land.
The debate about Google's results was sparked by a recent blog post by Vivek Wadhwa, a former technology executive and a visiting scholar at the University of California-Berkeley. He wrote that his students had trouble finding basic information about the founders of start-up companies on Google.
"The problem is that content on the internet is growing exponentially and the vast majority of this content is spam," or of little use, he wrote. "Google has become a jungle."

Read more...

Source: http://online.wsj.com

Six Things I Love About Android 3.0

Honeycomb has the chops to compete head-to-head with Apple's iOS. Here are six notable ways in which Google's interface team has improved Android.

By Melissa J. Perenson, PCWorld    Feb 25, 2011 4:15 am

Android has always frustrated me. I've tracked Google's mobile operating system ever since its debut on the T-Mobile G1, and time and again I've seen new versions fall short of overhauling the interface into a clean, user-friendly experience that can compete with--and push--Apple's iOS.

Until now: With Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb), Google has stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park.

In using Honeycomb on the Motorola Xoom tablet, I found myself routinely enjoying, not cursing, the experience. That's quite the contrast to how I react to my Samsung Galaxy S phone running Android 2.1--using that feels downright painful in comparison with using my Apple iPhone 4.

When it comes to interface design, I value a clean, organized style, with efficient navigation. That means making minimal taps, and not having to move my fingers back and forth across the whole screen to accomplish simple tasks. I was a harsh critic of the early Android, the unfinished operating system--it was the OS that went only so far, not far enough to see an entire action through, or to carry the polish to the next level.

But Android 3.0 is more than up to the task. Honeycomb is the first polished-interface product I've seen out of Google, and the first one that doesn't feel like an in-progress beta at launch. In some cases, it's the small details--like being able to tap anywhere on the screen to dismiss a menu window--that make Android 3.0 infinitely more usable.

Here are six things about Honeycomb that I've come to appreciate as I've spent time with the Motorola Xoom. Some of these items address grievances that I've long held with Froyo; others are just plain neat additions that bring the operating system to life. Read more...

Source: PC World

Google faces new complaint in anti-trust probe

Google faces more questions over how it dealt with other search engines

A new complaint about Google's alleged anti-competitive behaviour has been filed by specialist French search engine 1plusV.

It follows similar complaints from price comparison site Foundem and legal search engine ejustice.fr last year.

Those triggered a European Commission probe into Google's business practices, which is ongoing.

Google said it was working with the EC, adding that there "was always room for improvement".

"We have been working closely with the European Commission to explain many different parts of our business. While we have always tried to do the right thing for our users and advertisers, we recognise that there's always room for improvement," the firm said in a statement.

Delisted sites

1plusV is the parent company of of eJustice.fr and runs so-called vertical search engines that specialise in law, music and culture.

It said that between 2006 and 2010 Google prevented vertical search firms from using its online advertising service AdSense.

"This is the only truly effective way of obtaining targeted advertising on a search engine," 1plusV said in a statement.

It also alleges that, in the weeks following the original complaint, Google delisted sites published by it.

"For eJustice.fr, Google's decision to remove it from its search results was catastrophic in terms of its traffic," it said.

Google has said that ranking on its search results depends on how valuable a given site is for its users.

It has told companies to improve their websites to help move them up the rankings.

But 1plusV said that eJustice.fr was relisted in December, without modification.

"The relisting is in complete contradiction with the Google argument that eJustice.fr was delisted because it provided no value to the internet user," 1plusV said.

The European Commission said it would give Google the opportunity to comment on the allegations before deciding what action to take.

If Google is found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the search or advertising markets it could face a hefty fine.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12540731

Google Versus Apple: Why Google Is Winning

300,000 Android activations per day; this number was recently tweeted by a Google executive and is generally accepted as a reliable source. While this figure does not correspond one-to-one to the number of Android platforms sold per day, just a few months ago that number of devices was “only” 200,000 per day. Considering the rate of growth, the 300,000 figure is certainly realistic now. That equals at least 10 million Android activations per month.
Not only is Android one of the most successful OS roll outs in history, but the increase of its growth rate is even more astounding. Google is the master of the Internet and now, the company is positioned to take the throne as “master of the mobile OS ecosystem.” Apple Inc., arguably the first in the spotlight with a hit smartphone, the iPhone, is currently losing to Google. More than that, the company is losing to Google just like it lost the desktop market to the WinTel monster before-WinTel is the “code name” for the Windows/Intel takeover of desktop PCs. Failure to properly estimate opponents’ abilities to respond. The company seems to act as if it controls itsr own private market and is the only monopoly in town.
The Apple Mac Decline
The first big hit for Apple in recent memory was the MacBook Air. It was OK as a laptop, but wizard at looking good and being easy to carry. Fashion has value, and Apple knows fashion. Nevertheless, most laptops are not Macs. Last year, Apple penetration in the hardware world dropped from 7.4 percent to 6.4 percent, and it is likely that it will never get back those percentage points ever again.
Apple is known for its devotion to an exclusivity and elitist tone to its marketing which emerged from its only real success in the past the educational and art market. The competition is focusing on the whole market. Another recent study shows that Apple has 90 percent of the over $1,000 desktop computer market. The truth is clear, Apple is up-market, and the money is down-market. So how is Google managing this massive victory? Simple, using the “free” word.” Android is free, just as Google Maps, Gmail, and most everything else that Google does is. Rare is the consumer that has paid Google Inc. for anything.
A Simple Statement of Truth
Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it. In the past, Apple fell so far from corporate grace that only a $150 million cash infusion from Mr. Microsoft, Bill Gates himself, saved the company from the history books-and from bankruptcy. The reason for this was the cloister nature of the company and its product line. Apple is the only maker of Apple computers. Any company that wants to can make a Windows based PC.
For years, Bill Gates and Microsoft walloped Apple by focusing on the Windows OS and leaving the hardware to others; does this sound similar? Apple’s Mac OS X is closed, and so is the market for its software products. The Apple App story started out with higher inventory than any other app store did because it was the only one that could offer apps for Apple products. Now, the Apple App Store is slipping into second place because of the flood tide of Android developers and products-most free of charge.
Ironically, Apple rejected three Google Apps for inclusion in its App store and most iPhone and iPad users search the Internet with Google from their Apple devices. With the success of the iPhone, Apple had an opportunity to change its ways. The company chose to do what has always not worked for it, and the future belongs to Google and Android because of it.
By focusing on the widest market distribution, Google ensured that most all smartphone hardware manufactured now and in the future will run Android. It did this by giving away the Android OS free of charge and at that price who can afford to shop elsewhere? Apple will fade from history in the same way that it has faded from history in the past. However “all the best people” will still be seen in Starbucks with an iPad for a little while longer.

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• About Bob T. Wilson

Bob T. Wilson is the technology writer at velocity guide, a site dedicated to keeping its readers informed of the constant advances in mobile computing technology and Internet Service.

Google Adwords Account Setup

Google Adwords is by far the biggest advertising giant on the internet today. It is arguably the #1 advertising giant offline as well. The beautiful thing about setting up a Google Adwords account is that you can easily compete with the top companies by spending very little money. So, without further ado, here is the step-by-step process.

1. Sign up for AdWords.

2. Once you are at the account setup page, choose standard edition and click 'next'.

3. Now choose English as the language you would like to target and countries and territories for the targeted location, now click 'continue'.

4. Select 'All Countries and Territories' and place it into the selected Countries box then press 'continue'.

5. Now create the actual Google adwords ad. Make sure the title is relevant to the keywords you will be targeting. Create an eye catching description that will make people think that they NEED to click. Now click continue.

6. Now choose as many keywords as you can think of and place them in the keyword box provided. If the suggested keywords that Google provides to the right, are relevant to your campaign then you can choose them. Once you have selected all of the relevant keywords for your campaign, click 'continue'.

7. Choose the currency that you would like to fund your Google Adwords campaign. Set your daily budget, this is the maximum ammount of money you are willing to pay each day. Once your adwords account reaches this number no more ads will be shown untill the following day. Now you will need to set your maximum cost per click or CPC. This is the maximum ammount of money you are willing to pay each time someone clicks on your ad. Once you are done, click 'continue'.

8. Seclect continue once again and follow the simple steps to complete your google adwords account setup.

Now that you have created your account, you can use the simple technique I use to make Easy Money with Google Adwords.