Bad Piggies! That’s what more than 80,000 Google Chrome browser users were saying on Thursday morning when their browsers were hit with a fake Bad Piggies game that spread malware onto their computers.
The malware, which took advantage of Rovio’s super popular game, was detected by Barracuda Labs who warned customers to stay away from a free version of the app that showed up on the Google Chrome web store.
The game was titled Angry Birds Bad Piggies, and, when installed, it injected a code that replaces original ads on Yahoo, MSN, and other sites with ads that promote products from the hacker’s own affiliate network.
According to researchers, the app also requests additional information that is typically requested by verified apps. Because users are used to accepting certain permissions, they have been allowing the malware to gather information they would normally deny.
Among information stolen has been user email addresses, online credit card information, and more.
Barracuda following this incident is warning customers to always check permission types and the validity of the apps they install. If permissions seem out of line or the app name doesn’t match the official release name, users should avoid the program in question.
In the meantime, anyone who installed the malware should immediately change their internet passwords and check their credit card accounts for any type of suspicious activity.
Important tip of the day: if the name of an App doesn’t exactly match the developer’s website, you should move on and find another waste of time to enjoy.
Here’s a quick look at one of the fake ads displaying for malware infected users:
