There are a lot of available off-brand devices you can buy aside from the known manufacturers like Apple and Samsung. They will be priced cheap, but they will not have the same qualities, and may not even be safe. Such is the case of a brand of children's tablets that can be found in online retailers like Amazon.
Tablets with Malware
A tablet made for kids called Dragon Touch KidzPad Y88X was found to have preloaded software within the system that has been classified as malware by cybersecurity firms. Other than that, it runs on an outdated OS, which makes it more vulnerable to other malicious risks.
A researcher, Alexis Hancock discovered these flaws as her daughter was gifted the specific tablet for her birthday. Working at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Hancock had expertise in the matter and investigated the issue herself.
She expressed that the unwanted program was dangerous due to its history and extensive system-level permissions to download whatever application it wanted. There were several other potentially dangerous apps within the Dragon Touch tablet.
As reported by Tech Crunch, it used to contain Corejava, which Malwarebytes determined as malicious. Fortunately, the malware was inactive and it was programmed to send data to dormant servers. The same cannot be said for the other software that was found.
The tablet was also loaded with Adups, which was found on Android TVs and was also classified as malware that can automatically download and install new malware from the internet. This opens a whole new possibility of getting infected with various types of malware.
The issue was concerning enough that certain retailers took down the product from their sites. Upon being informed, Walmart immediately removed the third-party item. Walmart spokesperson John Forrest Ales said that the company's Trust and Safety are conducting a review.
Amazon spokesperson Adam Montgomery also said that the company is already "looking into these claims, and will take appropriate action if needed." While the affected tablets were taken down, the same model is still available for purchase, only they run on a more recent OS, Android 12.
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Don't Cheap Out on Tablets for Kids
Understandably so, the tablet for the cybersecurity researcher's daughter was a gift but it's still not advisable to get them a cheaper tablet. As evidenced by this case, they might not have the safety measures that more expensive models have.
This can be more dangerous especially since kids might not recognize which apps can be malicious or not. To make sure that the price won't exceed the low-tier range, the company would also put lower quality components.
That means that the camera wouldn't be as clear, and the display quality would not be as good. If you plan on getting cheaper models than Apple's or Samsung's you can opt for known brands like Amazon's Fire tablets, as suggested by Digital Trends.
These can cost you around $100 to $150, and they will provide your little one with everything they need within reasonable quality. The only downside is that your kid might see some ads for Amazon's products and services.
Related: Google Play Protect Can Detect Malicious Sideloaded Apps in Real-Time
