Security is important, specially when it is your smartphone. There should be no doubt about that fact. However, you should be just as wary of security software as any other app. Case in point: there's a slick new app in the Google Play Store called "Virus Shield". It's got a cool look and it's easy to operate. Just press a single button and your virus shield is activated.
For a new app, and especially one that costs $3.99, it's doing phenomenally well. Appbrain says it's been available for just over a week, and it's currently the #1 new paid app.
And it's got an impressive 4.7-star rating after over 10,000 downloads. The app description says that it "Prevents harmful apps from being installed on your device," "scans apps, settings, files, and media in real time," and "protects your personal information." Oh, and it has a low impact on battery life, and has "No, ZERO pesky advertisements!"
There's just one problem: it's a complete and total scam. It's literally a fake security app: the only thing that it does is change from an "X" image to a "check" image after a single tap. That's it. That's all there is, there isn't any more.
Don't believe us? Guys at the Android Police has done a thorough investigation of this app, team has decompiled the app and mirrored the java code on GitHub, minus a few art assets. Team confirms that this app is totally and completely devoid of any security benefit, several Google+ users have also confirmed its bogus nature.
This is fraud, pure and simple, and the developer "Deviant Solutions" potentially made considerable amounts of money based on a complete lie. We assume that a lot of the initial reviews were fake, but now that it's on the top of the charts, at least a few people will be buying it in the belief that it will protect them.
There is no developer website listed on the Play Store, but a quick search of the developer's email, "Jesse_Carter@live.com," reveals very little information. What you can see is a banned account at Sythe.com, where the user "Vibe" is accused of trying to scam people out of various low-value game items.
Unfortunately the wide-open nature of the Play Store means that unscrupulous people can take advantage of it. It's somewhat disheartening that an app so obviously fake could rise to the top, especially considering that it's paid, and possibly hundreds or thousands of people have been defrauded already.
What's the solution? Sorry to say that there is none. Any effective way of deterring outright fraudsters like this would go way beyond the basic filtering that Google is doing at the moment, and it would also make the Play Store less "open," if only marginally so. That being said, it's also clear that something needs to be done. Perhaps a more hands-on approach to monitoring apps that rise as rapidly as Virus Shield is called for.
As per the latest reports, the app has now been taken down from the Google Play Store.
via Android Police
For a new app, and especially one that costs $3.99, it's doing phenomenally well. Appbrain says it's been available for just over a week, and it's currently the #1 new paid app.
And it's got an impressive 4.7-star rating after over 10,000 downloads. The app description says that it "Prevents harmful apps from being installed on your device," "scans apps, settings, files, and media in real time," and "protects your personal information." Oh, and it has a low impact on battery life, and has "No, ZERO pesky advertisements!"
There's just one problem: it's a complete and total scam. It's literally a fake security app: the only thing that it does is change from an "X" image to a "check" image after a single tap. That's it. That's all there is, there isn't any more.
Don't believe us? Guys at the Android Police has done a thorough investigation of this app, team has decompiled the app and mirrored the java code on GitHub, minus a few art assets. Team confirms that this app is totally and completely devoid of any security benefit, several Google+ users have also confirmed its bogus nature.
This is fraud, pure and simple, and the developer "Deviant Solutions" potentially made considerable amounts of money based on a complete lie. We assume that a lot of the initial reviews were fake, but now that it's on the top of the charts, at least a few people will be buying it in the belief that it will protect them.
There is no developer website listed on the Play Store, but a quick search of the developer's email, "Jesse_Carter@live.com," reveals very little information. What you can see is a banned account at Sythe.com, where the user "Vibe" is accused of trying to scam people out of various low-value game items.
Unfortunately the wide-open nature of the Play Store means that unscrupulous people can take advantage of it. It's somewhat disheartening that an app so obviously fake could rise to the top, especially considering that it's paid, and possibly hundreds or thousands of people have been defrauded already.
What's the solution? Sorry to say that there is none. Any effective way of deterring outright fraudsters like this would go way beyond the basic filtering that Google is doing at the moment, and it would also make the Play Store less "open," if only marginally so. That being said, it's also clear that something needs to be done. Perhaps a more hands-on approach to monitoring apps that rise as rapidly as Virus Shield is called for.
As per the latest reports, the app has now been taken down from the Google Play Store.
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