Rogue Netflix App Discovered

Netflix's slow rollout of their official app to Android has created an opportunity for hackers to move into the Android space to fool people into downloading their malware, Symantec security blogger Irfan Asrar said in a blog post.

Compounding Netflix's public disaster of attempting to split the company in two is an app called Android Fakeneflic that can steal account information. Netflix only allows their app on certain Android devices, Asrar said, but several third-party apps started to show up for those who wanted to watch videos on Android devices that didn't have access to a Netflix app.

Criminals targeting mobile devices have become a force that is here to stay, Asrar said.

Fakeneflic looks very similar to the official Netflix app, according to Asrar's screenshots of it. Once you enter a name and password, that info gets sent to the hackers and the app uninstalls itself. Symantec has called the risk level for Android Fakeneflic very low, but it advises people to be careful what they download. Netflix released its app early in 2011 on just a few handsets because of security worries, and in September announced it works on all Android 2.2 and 2.3 devices. After Netflix went public with its plan to raise prices, it then made the ill-fated decision to separate its streaming video and DVD services. Netflix officially announced it would stay whole after massive backlash from its customers.

Tell us in the comments if you love your Netflix app or if you quit the company when they announced the creation of Qwickster.