Nowadays, the Android platform is now commonly used by people. And just
like the regular desktop or laptop, applications on the Android now has
advertisements as well. Quite frankly, some advertisements can be
annoying especially when you're in the middle of playing an app game or
just browsing the internet using your Android device. Annoying
advertisements can suddenly pop-up and flood Android applications. So
the question is, are these Advertisements viruses or just plain
developers trying to get their apps noticed?
Here are some Adwares that are completely harmless and are not considered as malware:
AndroidOS.AirPush - This application is one of the largest ad network
for Android developers. AirPush has features such as the Push
Notification Ads, AppWall Ads and the Icon Ads. The Push Notification
Ads is a feature that pushes ads to a device's Notification Tray without
interupting a running app and users can view the Ads at their own
convience. AppWall Ads is a feature used by app developers to control
the display time of their Ads. Be it within an app session, or everytime
the app launches or even during in between game levels and at other
natural breaks within their apps. Lastly, the Icon Ads is a feature that
creates shortcuts on the device's Applications Menu which links to
valuable content. Icon Ads provides thir users with an easy one-click
access to high value content such as mobile search and daily deals. It
can also be easily removed by users with one-click.
AndroidOS.Leadbolt - Just like AirPush, Leadbolt is also an ad network
that push advertisements on Android devices. Developers can choose from
Leadbolt's unique features for their freedom to be creative with their
ad placements. Leadbolt's features include Banner Ads, Capure Forms,
Interstitials, Advanced Overlays, Video Ads, App Walls, Push
Notifications and App Icons. The Capture Forms feature utilizes
fill-in-the-blank style of advertising which compels users to complete
surveys or questionnaires within an app session. The Interstitials is a
type of advertisement that appears ontop of a website content or an
application's user interface. Advanced Overlays are pages or icons that
restrict access to websites or applications until a user performs a
predetermined action like completing a survey or downloading a new app.
The App Wall(like AirPush's feature) gives the user freedom to view
advertisements on their own convenience. Push Notification is simply a
feature that pushes ads on the device's Notification Bar. And lastly,
the App Icon (the same as AirPush's feature as well) creates Ad icons
that links to a webpage or application designed to help the user obtain
the advertised app or product.
Some of Leadbolt's Clients are Funzio, ngmoco:), [a-mo-bee], glu and CrowdStar.
AndroidOS.AdWo - Adwo is a Chinese ad network that pushes advertisements
on Android devices that's almost the same as AirPush and Leadbolt. AdWo
supports text based ads as well as banner, image and graphic ads that
can also be displayed full screen.
Here is an example of an agressive Adware that may be deemed as harmful or too intrusive on user's devices:
AndroidOS.Counterclank - is a variety of AndroidOS.Plankton and is also
known as Apperhand SDK. This Application has pitted two major Antivirus
research teams, namely Symantec vs. Lookout, on determining whether this
is an adware or a malware. However, AndroidOS.Counterclank is an
aggressive form of an ad network. It is capable of identifying a user's
device by their IMEI. Counterclank has features like Push Notifications
Ads wherein it constantly exerts advertisements on the device's
Notification Bar. It also has the App Icon feature which creates a
search icon on the device's Applications Menu that links to a legitimate
search engine. And lastly, when users access the Search Icon,
Counterclank will also be able to push bookmarks on the device's
browser.
sumber : androidmalwareresearch.blogspot.com
