Tapsnake is a

scareware Scareware is a form of malware which uses Social engineering (security), social engineering to cause Acute stress reaction, shock, anxiety, or the perception of a threat in order to manipulate users into buying Potentially unwanted program, unwa ...

scam involving coercion to buy protection from a non-existent

computer virus A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...

that has been distributed in various ways.Android Tapsnake Mobile Scareware: Ads Push Antivirus
by Satnam Narang, at

Symantec Symantec may refer to: * Gen Digital, an American consumer software company formerly known as Symantec * Symantec Security, a brand of enterprise security software purchased by Broadcom Broadcom Inc. is an American multinational corporation, ...

; published December 20, 2013; retrieved April 6, 2015 It was offered as a game,

malware Malware (a portmanteau of ''malicious software'')Tahir, R. (2018)A study on malware and malware detection techniques . ''International Journal of Education and Management Engineering'', ''8''(2), 20. is any software intentionally designed to caus ...

spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is any malware that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user by violating their privacy, endangering their device's securit ...

included transmitting sundry information, particularly

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

location information to unauthorized third parties. The name Tapsnake comes from the computer game Snaker, which has been revised such that the 'snake' responds to

touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...

taps by the user. The game is the front end of a

trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

. An unsuspecting mobile device user is persuaded to load the "fun, free app," and then the person who wishes to monitor their movements must load a version which enables reception of location reports at 15-minute intervals.Tapsnake Infection: Not Very Likely
by

David Harley David Harley is a former IT security researcher, author/editor and consultant living in the United Kingdom, known for his books on and research into malware, Mac security, anti-malware product testing and management of email abuse. Career Aft ...

, at Information Security Magazine; published January 29, 2015; retrieved April 6, 2015 The most recent incarnation is enabled by activating a

pop-up ad Pop-up ads or pop-ups are forms of online advertising on the World Wide Web. A pop-up is a graphical user interface (GUI) display area, usually a small window, that suddenly appears ("pops up") in the foreground of the visual interface. The pop- ...

on an otherwise innocuous

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

. The user then receives dire warnings as to what the virus may do to them, is offered protection at a price via

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

(to a

mobile device A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. ...

), and is promised increased speed and performance as an additional perk. Android seems to be the

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

most targeted, though

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

attacks are also threatened. The actual game and embedded spyware do not seem to be present at all in this scenario, except in the form of a threat. Blog-advisors seem to agree that the safest course of action is to simply close the advert, 'clicking' on as few things as possible. The intent is to coerce to defraud, in this instance, and not to monitor movement.

References

{{reflist Malware