If you recently downloaded an add-on or even a cheat for Angry Birds on your Android based device you might want to check to see if you have been infected with malware. According to a story over at Venture Beat, a computer science professor and his team located in North Carolina State University have found new malware that hide as add-ons or cheats for the popular arcade game. The discovery was first announced on June 5. However Google removed the 10 malware files discovered by the NCSU team from the Android market.
The new malware file is called "Plankton" and according to the academic team the file runs in the background of your Android device and "will collect information, including the device ID as well as the list of granted permissions to the infected app, and send them back to a remote server." The blog stated that the malware was put in place by three different developers on the Android Market before Google removed the files.
Google"s Android Market is known for being easier to submit apps for approval but as Venture Beat reports this has also made it easier for malware creators to slip in malicious files. Back in March, Google took down dozens of malware inflected files from the Android Market. Of course, Android users might also be more careful about what they are downloading in the first place. Third party apps and cheats for Angry Birds on the Market are highly suspect files in the first place.