An identity-stealing fake version of the Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) streaming service app for Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android mobile phone could put a damper on Netflix expanding the roll out of its Android app. The fake version, called Android.Fakeneflic, takes advantage of a gap in availability and the service’s popularity to steal personal information from victims, explained a Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) researcher.
Symantec employee Irfan Asrar wrote in a blog, “Android.Fakeneflic is a text book case of an information stealing Trojan that targets account information. The malicious app is not too difficult to understand. Despite the fact that there are multiple permissions being requested at the time of installation – identical to the permissions required by the actual app – our analysis shows that this is, in fact, a red herring, probably used to add to the illusion that the end user is dealing with the genuine article.”
See our full analysis for Netflix | Symantec
App Roll Out Slowed Due to Fragmentation of Android
In May of this year, Netflix began rolling out its Android app to a limited number of smartphones with the required playback support. Netflix explained in a blog that it had to test individual handsets and could only launch on Android phones that could support playback. This hardware fragmentation is an ongoing issue for Android developers because It subsequently expanded the streaming app to all versions of Android 2.2 and 2.3.
On Oct. 19, Netflix again expanded the compatibility of its app to support Android Honeycomb tablets as well as extending support for the app to Canada and Latin America.
While this might be good news for Android users, Netflix has been struggling to right itself after a series of missteps that saw its stock drop precipitously. In September, the company reversed its plans to raise prices and split off its DVD mail business from its streaming video service.
Netflix stock price has taken a tumble over the last few months, from a high close to $300 per share in mid-July to a low below $107 on Oct. 19. It has slowly inched up since then, but continued malware issues with mobile phone streaming can’t be helping the company.
See our post earnings note Netflix Revised to $142: U.S. Will Stabilize & Int’l Growth is Undervalued
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