As the mobile platforms are getting more and more popular, they are also attracting the vicious attention of the cyber criminals. As a result, we are seeing an increased number of new malware being targeted towards smartphone users. If you are an Android user, then you should also be well prepared to defend against the new rise of malicious attacks on the Android devices. The first layer of defense can be protecting your Android OS against the known vulnerabilities like the Fake ID Bug, Heartbleed bug and the Master Key bug. Fortunately you can scan your system using the Kaspersky Fake ID Scanner in Android to find out if your system is affected by these vulnerabilities.
As you launch the Kaspersky Fake ID Scanner, it shows the familiar Kaspersky logo and a brief information about what it does. You can touch the Start scan button to start the scanning of your Android smartphone or tablet immediately. The scan does not take much time especially if you have not installed that many apps on your device.
After the scanning is finished, it will show whether the Fake ID, Heartbleed or Master Key vulnerabilities exist on your device. On my system it detected the Fake ID and Heartbleed vulnerabilities, but there was no Master Key bug found. You are also shown a link to the Kaspersky Internet Security app using which you can download and install this app from the Google Play Store.
The Fake ID bug in Android is a vulnerability that exists in all versions of Android OS from version 2.2 to version 4.4. There is no direct fix for this, but you can update your Google Play Store app in Android to protect yourself from this. You should also be careful not to install the apps from third party sites and from the APK files.
The Heartbleed bug in Android is a actually a bug in the “Heartbeat” add-on of the OpenSSL library. The library is used to encrypt the data transferred over secure connections, but due to the Heartbleed bug a hacker can bypass the encrypted data and can see the unencrypted data. The only thing that you can do about this vulnerability is to update your Android OS when your device manufacturer releases an update.
The Master Key bug is a bug that exists in Android OS that allows installation of files without verification. So if you download an APK app install file from an untrustworthy source, then it may install a different app instead of the intended app and Android will not even check the installed app for legitimacy. The only way to prevent this is to install a good antivirus app (like Kaspersky Antivirus) and use only Google Play Store for all your app needs. Future Android OS updates may also remove this vulnerability from your device.
Conclusion: The Kaspersky Fake ID Scanner can tell you whether your Android device suffers from well known Fake ID, Heartbleed or Master Key vulnerabilities. And knowing about the vulnerabilities is the first step towards the tightening of your system security.
You can download the Kaspersky Fake ID Scanner app for Android from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kaspersky.lightscanner.