As we always say, smartphones today are more than just mobile phones with which to make phone calls or send text messages. They are somewhat similar to small computers where many users save private information, documents, bank details and much more.
Hence, for hackers and other cyber criminals, these devices have become something quite desirable. By their actions they get not only our information, but perhaps that of all our contacts. That is why it is so necessary to take the privacy and security of our mobile devices very seriously, not just by purchasing those brands with good support and an upgrade policy, but also paying close attention to the apps we install on our smartphone.
How to detect a malicious app without having to download it
One of the simplest ways to hack or infect our mobile terminal is through fraudulent applications. Only in the Play Store there are millions of apps, all without having the tools that we can download via the internet with the installation of so-called APKs. And since Android users love to try new apps, the risk of installing a malicious app on our mobile phone is quite real.
So how can I detect if an app is malicious without installing it? Unfortunately there is no magic trick that tells us if an application contains malware or the like, but we will not only have to be careful enough, but also use common sense.
First of all, always download applications from trusted places like the Google Play Store. Okay, the big G app store isn't the safest place in the world, and there are not a few bug apps that manage to break through the Mountain View company's security and privacy barriers, but as a general rule, install a app from the Play Store is much safer than doing it directly from the Internet or any other place of dubious origin.
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Secondly, it is very important to carefully observe the app that we are going to download. What do we mean? If we are looking for a flashlight app and it asks us for permissions to access our contacts and messages, we should be suspicious. Checking the permissions of all the apps we are going to install on our device is essential since here we see if the developer has some other obscure intention or not.
Third, it is important, even if it may not seem like it, check the app's release date and developer name. Because? This isn't the first time an app has been able to have downloads and comments made by bots to make it feel like a real app. If an app has a lot of downloads, you haven't heard of it by any means and it was released recently… beware. As for the developer name, it's good to know if they've created more apps or not. If you are not even a developer with a lot of résumé… beware again.
In short, to know if an app is fraudulent or not, it is better to follow these tips: just download it from the Google application store, check the permissions and privacy policy before the app and finally take a look at the number of downloads, comments and the developer. As we said earlier, there is no magic trick, but we must be the ones who, with a little common sense, they investigate before installing like crazy.
