[warent]

So let's see here. There are apps that people download which, in a way, replicate themselves by enticing other people to download them often using some form of psychological engineering. These apps then compromise the person's data by streaming it to a server.

The word "app" is frequently used, but these sound more like computer viruses with a friendly UI, no?

[CamperBob2]

The word "app" is frequently used, but these sound more like computer viruses with a friendly UI, no?

I think that's a pretty profound way to look at it, but under a broader rubric -- perhaps "User-friendly malware" would be a better euphemism. It's also an ideal way to describe things like Windows Update.

It's easy to imagine some of history's most notorious virus authors going straight, working for Facebook and Microsoft. More money, more respect, and the retirement plan beats going to prison.

[zozbot123]

The established name for this sort of "phishing" malware is "Trojan horse malware" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing) - a malicious computer program which is designed to appear non-suspicious and mislead users wrt. its malicious activity. The irony is that the complex "app-specific privileges and permissions" system featured on mobile OSs was specifically intended to prevent mobile "apps" being used as dangerous trojan-horses, as was - to a lesser extent - the model of centralized "app store" repositories. It's not working very well.

In this case, we're specifically dealing with spyware - a common sort of malware where the malicious activity is invading the user's privacy.

[O1111OOO]

> The word "app" is frequently used, but these sound more like computer viruses with a friendly UI, no?

Malware for sure. Like phishing: "fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information ..... by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication."[0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing

[swebs]

A virus self replicates without human interaction.

[mirimir]

No, worms do that. Viruses must be spread. But of course, you can have hybrids, such as WannaCry.