Crime never sleeps, and the world is becoming more and more digital, which has made the path easier for cybercriminals, as it seems that it is now much easier for them to get hold of our sensitive information. And it has only put us at risk and made us realize how important it is to protect our personal information at all costs.
Nowadays we have practically everything on our mobile phone, our bank application, our insurance application, our identifications… But are we really aware of what we have installed on our phones? Many times we have applications on our devices that, without realizing it, put our privacy at risk or expose our data to cybercriminals, and we don’t even know it!
So, if you are interested in your privacy and protecting yourself from unauthorized access, we are going to tell you which are the six applications that you probably have on your mobile phone and should delete now!
Why are there dangerous apps?
Not everything is what it seems, and the same goes for apps. Some are specifically created for malicious purposes, and others simply do not comply with security standards, making them very vulnerable to attacks.
And you don’t have to download them from an unknown creator, some are included in the official Google Play and App Store stores, so no one is safe from them accessing your contacts, recording what you write or even listening to what you say! Wow, any hacker, with two simple clicks, could get into your phone and steal even your bank credentials…
Apps that want your bank accounts
Don’t be scared, but even Kaspersky (the cybersecurity company) has identified several VPN services as potentially dangerous for users. Fake VPNs become proxy servers used by cybercriminals, that is, it is as if they turned your mobile into a source of data that any hacker can drink from, thus accessing all the information they need to impersonate you.
The six applications that Kaspersky identified are the following:
- MaskVPN
- DewVPN
- PaladinVPN
- ProxyGate
- ShieldVPN
- ShineVPN
What is a VPN?
They are called Virtual Private Network, basically it is a “patch” that encrypts your internet connection and hides your IP address making everything safer (or for example, allowing you to see pages that can only be accessed in a certain country) it is like a secret tunnel where no one can follow you.
And why do they use them for commit wrongdoing?
Mainly because it is very easy to trick people and pass themselves off as a harmless VPN, and then they can get all your information. That is why before installing a VPN, it is best to use VPNs from recognized paid services, such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN or ProtonVPN, which guarantee real privacy. And no, no matter how highly rated a free VPN is, we do not recommend trusting free VPNs because they could be exposing users’ data to finance their service.
Are there more reasons why we can be scammed?
Yes, there are several key risk factors to know why users are the easy target for cybercriminals, and we will summarize them below.
- Dangerous links are usually the most effective method used by these criminals, because it is the easiest way for them to access your content. Before clicking on any link, make sure that the link comes from a reliable source.
- Your passwords are not very secure, and you probably repeat them in many places. Add capital letters, numbers and special characters, which although they are a little more difficult to remember, you will appreciate it.
- Do not install files downloaded from unknown sources (even if they seem very reliable)
- Remember that exposing yourself too much on social networks will cause you to give excessive details of your personal life and hackers will create more personalized attacks.
- Do not trust public networks (restaurants, parks or airports) because they usually lack protection measures and expose your data easily.
- Do not connect your USB drives or phones to unknown places, you do not know who has used them before or if they may have installed spyware.
- Make sure that the person who speaks to you is really them before sending money, identity theft is the order of the day.