PDF scanner app caught sneaking malware onto phones

If you’ve got a cell phone and frequently use an old scanner to digitally store documents and receipts, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. Smart phone cameras are great at scanning and saving those scraps of paper as pdf’s and it’s very convenient. However, a popular Pdf scanning app called CamScanner for Android devices has been caught sneaking malware onto customer phones and with over 100 million downloads, that’s a lot of people. The trojan, known as Necro.n, most likely snuck its way into the App under the guise of an advertising package and the developers of CamScanner may not have even been aware of the lurking, nasty code. However, users have noticed and posted a number of complaints in the reviews section of the Play store. Similar malware has been found in preinstalled on Chinese-made smartphones and the Necro.n trojan itself doesn’t actually perform any malicious activity on its own, such as spying on you or harvesting contact information. Rather, it’s simply a back door to your device, giving criminals access to your phone so they can do whatever dirty work they please.

The Take AwayI’m a fan of pdf scanning on smartphones – I think that it’s a great use of the device. What I’m not a fan of is no-name App developers worming their way into my phone! So, I recommend using tried and true apps from trusted names. The 2 Apps I recommend are Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. Both allow you to scan and crop documents, receipts, business cards, photos, or whatever directly into your cloud storage account. In Google Drive, simply hit the + button and select Scan and from OneDrive, tap the Lens icon in the bottom right hand corner. That’s it – scan away and best of all, it’s free! Stay safe out there. -A