A report by information technology security firm Trend Micro Inc said that 87 percent of all Pokemon Go-related apps on Google Play are malware, including “impostor” Pokemon Go games made by hackers that are designed to sell unwanted merchandise or compromise user data.
The Trend Micro report, published on Monday, on apps available on Google Play said that there were 149 Pokemon Go-related apps available in Taiwan’s regional app store between July 8 and July 24, with more than 3.9 million downloads.
However, 87 percent of the apps contain malware, the report said.
Micro Trend senior consultant Chien Sheng-tsai (簡勝財) said that a majority of the malware apps use false advertisements to deceive users into downloading them for the purpose of selling merchandise unrelated to Pokemon Go, while a smaller number would install “Trojan” programs to enable remote control of the device or data theft.
Users should download Pokemon Go and other apps from authorized developers, not from dubious sources claiming to have free-to-download content or hacked versions of software, Chien said.
Chien said caution is needed when using the location-based augmented-reality app.
“GPS-based games have this kind of risk and players who are concerned about compromising their location data should turn off GPS navigation on their devices,” Chien said.
“However, since Pokemon Go requires constant GPS service for game play, people should be more cautious if they want to play it,” Chien said when asked whether such apps could affect privacy by revealing their location and habitual routes.
Information technology security firm Devcore Inc chief executive officer Allen Own (翁浩正) said that the majority of Pokemon Go-related malware downloads in Taiwan are likely to have occurred because players wanted a copy of the game before its release in the nation and were deceived by fakes.
All apps can potentially compromise personal data and users should adopt safety precautions in their everyday use of information technology to protect the information stored on apps and games such as Pokemon Go, Own said.
The Health Promotion Administration on Sunday issued a statement calling on gamers to refrain from playing in or near dangerous areas, such as roads, railways and aviation zones; using devices in hot weather or low light; playing the game alone; or losing situational awareness.
Every 30 minutes of eye use with devices should be followed by 10 minutes of rest, while sunglasses should be worn from 10am to 2pm to protect the eyes from sunlight, the Ministry of Health and
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods