Beware “Album by Google Photos” crapware IN THE MICROSOFT STORE

[Karlston]

 

I’ve seen several warnings about the “Album by Google Photos” app, from “Google LLC,” so I decided to try it out. On a test machine, of course.

 

Sure enough. I went to the Microsoft Store using the Store app, installed Album by Google Photos, clicked Launch, and I was presented with a Google logon screen. Except it wasn’t a Google logon screen. It was a very good fake of a Google logon screen.

 

I tried entering several bogus Google IDs, and suddenly I heard a machine-generated voice, “Virus alert! Your machine is sending your data to … Call xxx – xxx – xxxx to fix your PC!” or words to that effect.

 

Fortunately, it wasn’t doing anything of the sort, and a click on the X in the upper right corner stopped the stupid thing. But that’s a heckuva Saturday surprise, eh? Straight from the Microsoft Store.

 

I first heard about the unlikely Store denizen from Martin Brinkmann on ghacks.net. Then @GeekLatest tweeted to me and pointed to his (her?) web site. Developer tricks Microsoft, publishes app under Google LLC name in Windows Store

 

Sure enough, following the lead of GeekLatest, I dug into the installed UWP app, and found under a folder that was blocked, this lovely set of programs:

 

 

Block Craft 3D is a completely legitimate Minecraft open world game. But somehow the Block Craft 3D inside Album by Google Photos doesn’t strike me as a Minecraft extension.

 

If you ever wondered why people avoid the Microsoft Store like the plague, permit me to introduce you to reason number 147,389.

 

Source: Beware “Album by Google Photos” crapware IN THE MICROSOFT STORE (AskWoody - Woody Leonhard)

[neeraj]

The crapware app is still up on Microsoft store and honestly the page looks legit!!!! Its only when you check out the publisher by clicking on the name "Google LLC" that you see no other app from the publisher. 😈

 

[Sylence]

They warn users about installing apps from outside store that might be dangerous yet their own store got stuff like that. Google play is Worse tho.

so that's not the reason to be against the Windows store, there are apps that are very helpful specially for those who don't have a smartphone or Xbox console.

[straycat19]

Does this really surprise anyone?  After what they have done to users of Windows 10 you should realize the only safe apps and OS are the ones you get from anyone BUT Microsoft.

[dabourzannan]

A new episode of Microsoft blunders. They are like any other big corporate no more than a money making machine, and that is understandable.

However, lately Microsoft lost its way and their lust to make corporate wealth, gone too far. The present state among MS customers helped them reach this point. People now care less about everything even things that could affect their personal life. They will wait until disaster strikes and start complaining, and what happened to some people with the latest flawed update, losing precious files and get reprimanded by Microsoft that they did not give enough feedback and failed to use “one drive” to back up their files.

Also add to this the new business notion that some entities are too big to fail makes them confident that they will escape unpunished no matter what they do.

[steven36]

56 minutes ago, dabourzannan said:

A new episode of Microsoft blunders. They are like any other big corporate no more than a money making machine, and that is understandable.

However, lately Microsoft lost its way and their lust to make corporate wealth, gone too far. The present state among MS customers helped them reach this point. People now care less about everything even things that could affect their personal life. They will wait until disaster strikes and start complaining, and what happened to some people with the latest flawed update, losing precious files and get reprimanded by Microsoft that they did not give enough feedback and failed to use “one drive” to back up their files.

Also add to this the new business notion that some entities are too big to fail makes them confident that they will escape unpunished no matter what they do.

What do you expect Google have this problem all the time with infected apps reaching there store  Android  is just another route to to make money using there cash cow ads .. Google is and ad company when you use something made by you use a  ad service bundled in a piece  of software  . Microsoft  not made no money on Windows in years so they made a version of Windows that has ads and things and harvest your data they took a page right out of Google's playbook .  Windows 10 is just a Microsoft service in a piece of software . Eg: Windows as a service Microsoft calls it. 

 

What held Microsoft back was when Ballmer came in in 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble and because a judge ordered that Microsoft be broken up in its U.S. antitrust case shortly after he took over. All the Windows in recent times   Windows XP -Windows 10 have not made as much money for them as they make now from selling other services . Since Satya Nadella took over Microsoft has tripled its stock  that's without Windows even doing any good they not the Windows company anymore  like other big outfits like Google  they everything else and a OS company last now.