News & Reviews:   Star N9500 Malaysia launch

Apparently, malware makers are becoming more bold as reports have shown that the Star N9500 smartphone comes straight from the factory with a Uupay.D trojan malware disguised as the Google Play Store app. The malware will then get all your personal information (including the all important credit card information) along with sending all your calls to the malware makers. Your text messages will go to premium services for more data mining and follow up spam. The tech specs are quite tempting with a quad-core MTK6589 processor, 8GB of storage, 5-inch display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, 12MP rear camera, 2100 mAh battery and Android 4.2, all for the very low price of $217 (RM698). The report has been backed by Kaspersky, makers of the antivirus software and it seems to have already been in the market for quite some time. We managed to find it on Amazon for just $159.99 (RM515), with other buyers there confirming the existance of the malware, so Malaysian deal seekers beware.