Last week, a document from the CSIS Security Group pointed ZDNet (and the rest of us) to a completely shady app at the Google Play Store called “Updates for Samsung.” It offered gadget-level Android updates to phones and redistributed Samsung’s software program, though it was a rip-off to get you to pay money for stated updates.
Today, once we inquired, Google instructed The Verge that the app violated its policies and has been “suspended.” It is uncertain what specific policy Google stated, and while it has become aware of the app. Last week, the app developer, Updato, claimed to BleepingComputer that it was pulling the app to “dispose of the firmware provider component and non-Google bills.” However, it defended the app as a “convenience to our audience.”
In a statement, Google stated, “Providing a secure and at ease experience is pinnacle precedence, and our Google Play developer policies strictly limit apps which are misleading, malicious, or intended to abuse or misuse any network, tool, or non-public records. When violations are located, we take action.” The app has racked up over 10 million downloads, which aligns with Google Play’s counter. That doesn’t necessarily imply that 10 million human beings had been duped. The app’s user score changed into weirdly excessive for a scam (almost four stars), so it’s viable that it changed into additionally gaming the Google Play Store’s analytics and trying to scam money from users. Conversely, the app has been around for over six years, so a few big ranges of people have hooked up to it.
The app preyed on users’ choice to get OS-level updates for Samsung Android phones, typically taking longer than users would like. CSIS’s Aleksejs Kuprins informed ZDNet that a “consumer could experience a bit misplaced about the [system] update method. Hence [they] could make a mistake by going to the legitimate utility save to look for a gadget update.” It is certainly a mistake; however, it is now not unreasonable. The app’s creators took gain of the frustration many Android customers feel about anticipating updates. Even if that 10 million downloads quantity isn’t near accurate, it’s still awful that Google didn’t appear to recognize approximately the rip-off until it surfaced in media reports an ultimate week.
As 9to5Google mentioned last week, the Updates for Samsung app did have a “download firmware” segment; however, it drove users to pay a subscription price by throttling those downloads—which, again, were in all likelihood being redistributed illegally and were useless in the first place because Samsung distributes updates for its telephones free of charge. Technically, it isn’t malware, but it’s miles scammy.
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In Conclusion
While ratings will continuously oscillate, your position on search engines like Google and Yahoo’s consequences pages does not shift extensively if you comply with those principles. Whatever you do, DO NOT panic: poorly constructed thoughts and actions will negatively affect your SEO strategy; be patient if you are using white-hat SEO techniques.
