Following the shutdown of the popular Filelinked service at the hands of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, those looking to easily install hacking apps on Android devices turned to alternatives. One of them is Applinked, a similar tool that has attracted an enthusiastic audience. But should services like this be taken simply out of confidence, or is a higher level of caution recommended?
In June, the popular Filelinked service, which allowed Amazon Fire TV users to easily install piracy-related apps, disappeared in mysterious circumstances.
It was later revealed that the shutdown followed legal pressure from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, which objected to the tool's ability to act as an unofficial marketplace for piracy-focused apps. However, as always, there were soon replacements.
The so-called hydra analogy dictates that when a head is cut off, several more appear to replace it, and in this case, Linked app, FileSynced and Unlinked they were happy to please. All three are functionally similar tools (aside from the marketing and community approaches), but Applinked is perhaps the most interesting for a couple of reasons.
Openly Operated App-Linked Developer
Operating in what Filelinked proved to be a controversial niche, it was a surprise to see Applinked offered outdoors by a developer that is easily found on the web. In fact, Applinked was initially served from the developer's own website and is still advertised and linked from there, despite what happened to its predecessor.
Of course, there could be a level of confidence that the same fate does not apply in this case, perhaps for a number of reasons and legal considerations. However, in early October, an announcement clearly indicated that change was on the horizon.
๐ข๐ขAPPLINKED๐ข๐ข
On October 21, 2021 I will no longer own the rights or any code to applyโฆ. I will be the senior developer for 6 months afterwards. I have bigger and better things for my fans. Thank you for your support in this projectโฆ ๐ โค ๐ I love you all.
- โจโจ Inside 4ndroid โจโจ (@ Inside_4ndroid) October 11, 2021
Given the long history of sites and services changing ownership for various reasons, this was not a particular surprise. However, the new owners are not interested in existing projects for no reason, so what follows might be of some interest to users of the software.
This particularly applies to people who are happy to install updates to any software that is not open source or that is delivered without informational change logs, or indeed none.
The new version of Applinked just grew 10 times in size
Those who have monitored Applinked, Filesynced, and Uplinked file sizes over time will know that, more or less, they all floated around the 3MB mark. However, the latest Applinked update has now gone from 3MB to a relatively large 33MB, without offering any significant additional functionality or features.
It is important to emphasize that this in its own right does not show that there is something nefarious at stake here, but since there was reportedly a change of ownership just before this update was rolled out, these two developments could at least be linked. potentially.
The developer and new owners (whoever they are) are currently silent on the purpose of that extra 30MB, but running the APK through VirusTotal's scanner shows that Applinked's previous clean state is now covered in red ink, with al least 16 security vendors advising caution. about the software.
False positives are not unusual in this space, but alerts from 16 vendors are a concern and worthy of explanation. However, that doesn't seem to be a priority.
Developer 'takes a break' from social media
In an announcement on October 20, the Applinked developer, who is now not the owner according to previous statements, said that it would be taking a break from social media.
โThis does not mean that I will not continue to developโฆ you will see that updates are sent for all my applications, but you may not see the announcements here. The reason for [the] break [and] silence is the idiot people who think they can command [and] I will obey, โhe wrote on Twitter.
Withdrawing from social media due to insulting behavior is certainly not a crime and is probably the best response in many circumstances. However, given the change in ownership and the massive increase, the withdrawal may have been a bit ill-timed. Add the warnings now attached to the APK and a public statement seems more necessary than ever.
Whether that explanation will come through remains to be seen, but for the masses who have installed the app, assurances that the sudden unexplained bloat and alerts from VirusTotal are no cause for concern (and why) could allay fears.
In the meantime, it bears repeating that people who install software based purely on trust are always susceptible to unexpected results. These results are invariably traded between risk and reward, but people shouldn't be surprised when things go wrong.
It has happened countless times before in the P2P, file-sharing, and streaming spaces over the years (even with older trusted software) and it will happen again. Maybe this time, maybe not, but people certainly shouldn't be afraid to ask questions.
