Don't download this TikTok app — it's spyware

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Don't download this TikTok app — information technology'southward spyware

(Image credit: Kon Karampelas)

President Trump and tech experts worry that TikTok might be spyware, but a faux "TikTok Pro" Android app is the existent matter. Information technology will steal your text messages, your photos, your location and your Facebook password, and tin take screenshots, tap into your microphone, make calls, ship texts and launch other apps.

The TikTok Pro app isn't in the Google Play Store, but because the U.S. government has alleged it volition ban TikTok unless the Chinese app finds an American buyer, many people may be forced to go "off-road" looking for the existent thing. TikTok Pro will exist waiting to fob them into downloading it.

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"Users looking forward to using the TikTok app amidst the ban might look for alternative methods to download the app," wrote Shivang Desai of security firm ZScaler in a blog mail yesterday (Sept. eight) detailing this new spyware threat. "In doing so, users can mistakenly install malicious apps."

This isn't the first simulated "TikTok Pro" app to announced — Desai noted that an earlier 1 was promoted via WhatsApp and text-bulletin spam and, once installed, showed y'all a lot of ads. That one was more annoying than it was harmful.

Desai didn't specify how this new, more than dangerous variant was propagating, simply the same avenue of texts and message chats might exist a prophylactic bet.

Once the faux TikTok app is installed, it quickly hides its own icon, Desai wrote, possibly to make the user think the installation failed. To steal your Facebook credentials, it creates a simulated Facebook login page and waits for you lot to type in your username and password.

"This functionality can be easily further extended to steal other information, such equally bank credentials, although nosotros did not see any banks being targeted in this attack," Desai wrote.

It's pretty easy to avoid "TikTok Pro" and other malicious Android apps. First, don't download or install any app that's not in the official Google Play app shop. (Older Android phones tin can preclude this past leaving "Unknown sources" unchecked in the security settings.)

2d, do download and install i of the best Android antivirus apps, which will block such Android malware right away.

Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has also been a dishwasher, fry melt, long-booty commuter, code monkey and video editor. He's been rooting effectually in the information-security space for more than 15 years at FoxNews.com, SecurityNewsDaily, TechNewsDaily and Tom'southward Guide, has presented talks at the ShmooCon, DerbyCon and BSides Las Vegas hacker conferences, shown upwards in random TV news spots and fifty-fifty moderated a panel give-and-take at the CEDIA home-technology conference. You can follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/fake-tiktok-app-spyware

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