iPhone owners beware of fake-app attack
If you own an iPhone, you now have to worry about malicious apps.
I'm Bridget Carey, and this is your CNET update.
Hackers have a new way to break into iPhones and iPads.
By tricking users into downloading bad apps.
You may be surprised how easy it is to fall for this scam.
The cyber security firm FireEye revealed a vulnerability in IOS 7 and 8, where the phone can download an app that isn't in Apple's App Store.
All it takes to download a bad app is to click a link in an email, or a text message.
You then get a pop-up asking for you to install the app.
The scary thing about this trick is that whatever you thought you downloaded can actually overwrite another app on your phone that you once trusted.
And it's just sitting there on your screen disguised to look like your banking app or maybe your email app.
In this example the hacker created a fake Gmail app.
And if you log in, you just handed over your password to a hacker.
The app also runs in the background to track any phone calls or messages made on the phone.
The lesson here is that you need to be smart and only download apps directly from the app store.
And be careful, that now you can get phishing e-mails that try to trick you into downloading phony apps.
In other news it's getting easier and more affordable to upgrade your home to a smart home.
Qwerky and general electric are pushing out 7 new smart home gadgets to help you stay on top of your home security, and control appliances from your smart phone.
Among new products is this tripper, it's a sensor you put any window or door to get alerts when it's open or closed.
A pack of two costs 40 dollars.
The Tapped is a smart light switch and the Outlink is a smart power outlet so you can control anything that you plug into it with an app.
The quirky Ascend adds smart controls to your garage door opener for 100 dollars and that way you don't have to leave home wondering if you closed the garage door.
There's also a new smart thermostat and control center.
A few big stories in the world of apps.
There's a sequel to the Candy Crush game.
It's called Candy Crush Soda Saga.
Now out on Android and IOS app stores.
The new version has levels that fill up with purple soda and you have to save the purple gummy bears from purple soda and the bears get stuck in frosting and honey.
But not all of this game is utterly mindless, there's a new soundtrack recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Instagram has added a small but extremely helpful update to its photosharing network, you can finally edit your photo captions.
Tagging mistakes and typos will no longer haunt your dreams.
Now if only Twitter added a way to edit tweets.
Well a girl can dream.
That's your tech news update.
And there's always more cnet.com.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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