DIGITAL LIFE

Fortnite Android version could put users at risk

In order to not deliver the 30% royalties to Google for using the Google Play digital distribution platform, Epic Games decided that the Android version of Fortnite would be distributed on its own channel. Measure that also proposes a more direct approach to its fans and customers.The decision may be profitable for Epic Games, which adds "a few million" to the rumored billing of the game, just as it has with other platforms. Still, this decision is not being welcomed by security experts. ESET believes that the fact that the game is not being distributed on Google Play poses a risk to user safety. The company says that Google's digital store is a security guarantee, and there are more risks when downloading from other sites where there are no security controls implemented.The explosion of success and the fever that the game has generated has made users, especially the young ones, look for a version of Fortnite over the internet, when it was not even officially available. Fake Fortnite offers in the Android version have prompted users to infect their devices with malicious applications. ESET believes that launching Fortnite off Google Play can be a great opportunity for cybercriminals to act and create malware that infects smartphones used to download fake files."Without Google Play as an intermediary, users will have to do a manual installation of the game, which by itself eliminates some of the security measures offered by Android. Many users are expected to try to get the game through Google searches, which could mean ending up on a page with dangerous content, "said Nuno Mendes, CEO of Whitehat, ESET's exclusive representative in Portugal.Finally, ESET recommends that users be careful in choosing the source to download the game and that they only choose to get it through the official website of Fortnite.



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