Our mobile phones are always vulnerable to mobile malware that can not only corrupt our data but also prove risky to our lives. For instance, if a personal photo of a girl has been taken by a hacker through an unrecognized photo app, then she could be blackmailed for money. Unless it is verified on the App Store and features a great verifiable rating, never download an app that you have no information about.

We store intimate and personal information like our heart beat, medical conditions, medication etc., everything on our phone and it is not surprising that this information is used by culprits to attack you personally. Almost 70% of all apps report personal information tracking. This information is given to Facebook, Google Analytics, etc. Phones, tablets, iPods are all home to a lot of personal information which is ripe for picking for the attackers. According to an Appthority report, they have found out that around 83% of the ‘Top Paid 100 Apps’ and the ‘Top Free 100 Apps’ on Android, and 91% on iOS are not risky. However, apps with ratings less than 4.0 are a risk to think about, notwithstanding however exciting these may appear to you. Malware like this takes control of your device because it gets access to all your personal data. Let us look at few apps that are low risk and high risk to all of us.

Apps that are at low risk

• VivaVideo : This app is a photo and video editor. The search queries are only vulnerable to interception.
• Snap Upload for Snapchat : This app is where you can send and receive photos and videos and the username and password is sent to “sc.apparser.com” where details are vulnerable again.
• ooVoo : This is a free video calling, texting and voice app that uses the username and password documented by Double Encore engineer Nick Arnott. This information is also vulnerable to interception.
• Uconnect Access : This app is like a free radio app with all songs available, much like Spotify, has a login API that can help customers validate their info so that it can prevent the culprit from using the vulnerability interception.
• Volify : This is a free online music streamer and a music player on the iOS store. Here, the device model, network, or mobile carrier and battery information are only vulnerable to interception.

Apps that are at medium and high risk

• VPN Free : This is a VPN server list, and the VPN server information is susceptible to vulnerabilities and manipulation of your mobile.
• Gift Saga : This app is essentially a free gift card and rewards program, where the mobile country code and network domain are all vulnerable.
• Music Tube : This is a free music playlist taken from YouTube. They collect your likes and dislikes on video listing and your search queries and send you pop-ups as well.
• AutoLotto: This is a Powerball lottery ticket game that draws date and time information as well as social media app information to target you and open your phone to vulnerabilities.
• Code Scanner by Scan Life : This is a QR and Barcode Reader app that is available for iOS phones alone. It takes the information about the device model, mobile network code, gallery, contacts, mobile country code, all being vulnerable to interception.
• HipChat : This is a free group chat for a team and a business group, allowing an attacker inside a network to connect through LAN or mobile apps and through a login process. This vulnerability is not yet fixed and takes the login address and does all authentication.