Beware Olympic malware

There isn't always an app for that.

An Internet security firm is warning that some Olympic apps for Android mobile devices are really just fronts for malicious software interested in information mining.

People are turning to downloadable applications to help them follow particular sports at the Olympics or to compile the results they're interested in. The security firm Webroot is warning caution, though.

For example, Webroot checked out one app called "London Olympics Widget" (which appears to have been purged from Google Play and the Amazon App Store for Android already.)

"It appears intended to show the user aggregated 2012 Olympics news. What it really does however is harvest your contact list, device id(IMEI), and reads your SMS messages," reported Webroot's Joe McManus.

Amazon and Google don't screen Android apps beforehand but will investigate reports of malware, McManus said.

He offers these guidelines to police your own security:

"When installing apps look at who the author/author company is. If the author is listed, search the name and see if it is a reputable or related company."