According to Trend Micro researchers, the app has more than one security problem, in some cases serious bugs that put the user and the smartphone at risk.
There is a very famous Android app used by users all over the world that is not secure, Trend Micro researchers have discovered: this app is called SHAREit – Transfer & Share, is developed by Smart Media4U Technology Pte.Ltd. and is regularly available on Google’s Play Store.
In spite of the fact that Trend Micro has warned both the developer and Google several times, in fact, the app has neither been corrected nor removed from the Play Store and, as a result, thousands and thousands of users around the world are continuing to download and use it exposing themselves to a long list of risks, some of which according to the cybersecurity company are also very serious. That’s why Trend Micro decided to make it public, instead kept secret for several weeks waiting for a change to the app that never came. Not even with the latest recent update, dated February 9.
Why SHAREit is dangerous
According to what Trend Micro discovered SHAREit has more than one vulnerability and a hacker able to exploit these bugs could seriously harm the user by transferring, copying, modifying or deleting files, for example.
But that’s not all, because one of the bugs found also allows to remotely execute malicious code on the device on which SHAREit is installed and, eventually, to install other apps (including malware-infected apps) without the user noticing anything.
Almost two billion downloads
SHAREit is a widespread app: Play Store statistics speak of over 1 billion downloads, while the developer himself claims to have already reached 1.8 billion. The app is loved by users because it allows them to quickly and easily transfer large files between devices.
The only frequent complaint among reviews on the Play Store, however, is due to the excessive presence of ads and notifications from the app that, being free, has as its main remuneration mechanism the display of banner ads on the user’s smartphone.
According to Trend Micro, however, this is not a real security risk. On the contrary, the flaws discovered by the company are and, for this, Trend Micro has no doubt: the app should be uninstalled as soon as possible, while waiting for the security bugs to be fixed.