The danger of mobile applications

Nowadays, anyone or any company with a computer or mobile device with Internet access must be careful about all downloads made at any time: programs, applications, etc.

According to the latest studies we have researched in our  IT maintenance company in Barcelona, about 800 applications are downloaded every second for mobile devices, tablets, and computers. In addition, each person usually has an average of about 25 applications on their smartphones or tablets, something that can pose a serious threat to users, both private individuals and professionals.

Applications today account for 25% of the market revenue within mobile telephony, a rate that will increase to 33% by next year 2016, according to various specialized sources.

But at this time of success for mobile applications, security must be an aspect that everyone should take into account, not only those who download entertainment applications but also those who use professional applications for their work.

It has always been recommended to download applications from Google Play, but according to the results of a study carried out by the ESET Latin America computer security laboratory, it has been shown that there are at least about 30 fake applications in this Google store related to something as simple as a game like Minecraft, and the same can happen with the most important professional applications, posing an extra risk since it has always been said that Google Play is constantly monitored to avoid any security problems.

What are we facing?

There are many dangers that can hide under the appearance of a useful application, and we may encounter theft of information such as passwords, addresses, emails, account or credit card numbers for example; but also viruses, worms, and a huge string of malware that puts our devices at risk.

The "lesser evil" happens on a personal smartphone or tablet that is only used for leisure and does not contain sensitive data, but the worst is for those professionals who have one of their work tools in their mobile devices, where sensitive information can indeed be stored and pose a great danger.

Loss of privacy or device lockout are two of the main threats for professional devices that, unknowingly, download supposedly risk-free applications when in fact they are not.

How can we protect ourselves against this threat?

The most important thing is to never download applications from any store that is not official and to distrust those that are completely free or at a suspiciously low price. If you are going to download a professional app, you should read reviews about it, see its official page, and study everything possible, paying attention to the number of downloads and also the rating given by the users themselves.

You should never disable your antivirus to install an application, and if, when installing, it asks for access to sensitive data such as your contacts, emails, etc., you should also be suspicious. An app dedicated to business productivity should not always require such data; therefore, precautions should always be maximized and any kind of risk avoided.