Skip to footer

Flappy Bird is gone. But Flappy Bird malware thrives.

Meanwhile, Terry Cavanagh has released a Flappy Bird tribute called Maverick Bird. 

|
terrycavanaghgames.com
Missing Flappy Bird? Try out Maverick Bird (it's not malware, we promise).
  • By Matthew Shaer Correspondent

First bit of bad news: Flappy Bird is gone. Second bit of bad news: The Internet is now awash in malware masquerading as the now-defunct game. 

According to Sophos, which unearthed a gaggle of Flappy Bird impostors, much of this malware resides on alternative Android markets – unlicensed alternatives to the Google Play store, in other words. As Sophos notes, the malware is trussed up to look exactly like the original game, down to the cartoonish avatar. But launch the software, and all manner of chaos will be wreaked on your machine. 

"We advise Android users (especially those who are keen to download the now 'extinct' Flappy Bird app) to be careful when installing apps," the team at the TrendLabs security blog advises in a separate post (hat tip to CNET). "Cybercriminals are constantly cashing in on popular games (like Candy Crush, Angry Birds Space, Temple Run 2, and Bad Piggies) to unleash mobile threats." 

Flappy Bird, which was released last year, was pulled this week from the Android and iOS stores by the developer, Dong Nguyen. In an interview with the Washington Post, Mr. Nguyen said the reason had to do with what he viewed as the addictive nature of his game, which he said was having a "negative effect" on his players. "I have a serious reason to take down the game and I would like to apologize people for that," he told the Post. 

In related news, Terry Cavanagh, the creator of the cult hit Super Hexagon, has released Maverick Bird, a tribute to Flappy Bird. "Thanks for the inspiration, Dong," Mr. Cavanagh wrote on his blog. "Looking forward to your next game when things settle down!"

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Flappy Bird is gone. But Flappy Bird malware thrives.
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2014/0213/Flappy-Bird-is-gone.-But-Flappy-Bird-malware-thrives
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe