Pokemon GO took the world by storm over one weekend. Clusters of teens and adults alike are sweeping the streets nabbing animated creatures with their mobile phones.
With access to your clock and GPS, the app makes Pokemon; augmented animals such as dragons, rats and turtles, appear in the real world around you. As a ‘trainer’ you are to build up your Pokemon so that they can fight each other. The app uses Google Maps to guide you.
but this game also have one dark side. in this video i took a look at some problem with pokemon go game.
problem no.1:-
On sign up, you will be asked to provide your Google login. Apps commonly use existing credentials rather than creating their own to speed up installation and make sign up easy. However, in the case of Pokemon GO, Niantic Labs, the app’s developers, offer no clear limitation to what the app has access to.
Upon reading the Privacy Policy, i was shocked to find that the app had full access to all aspects of a player’s Google account, including the ability to send and read emails, access edit and delete documents in Google Drive and Google Photos and access browser histories and location information.
There is no mention of what Niantic Labs intends to do with the data it accesses, but users should be aware that full access to a user’s personal data is a huge security risk.
The legitimate app has full access to your private information, but what if that access were to end up in the hands of, say, a malware developer, or an organisation managing a botnet? What security measures do Niantic Labs have in place to protect the mass of data they have obtained? We aren’t sure.
Further, in some countries, the app hasn’t been released yet. Players are downloading the game from third party sites which have teamed up with malware developers. Exploitative versions of the app are giving hackers backdoor access to mobile phones all over the world.
By logging in to the app, you are granting full access to a company that has amassed huge amounts of their users’ personal information without any explanation as to how it will be used, and to any hacker or malware developer who has managed to access it.
Malicious apps can be hard to differentiate from legitimate ones, particularly if they are operating quietly in the background.
So, what can you do to keep your data safe?
It is the opinion of the "pc tricks & cyber security test" Team that using this app is not worth the risk.
It is likely that Niantic Labs will update their privacy policy to align more closely with their other app Ingress, which only needs a player’s basic profile. We advise patience. But, if you must use the app:
Upon reading the Privacy Policy, i was shocked to find that the app had full access to all aspects of a player’s Google account, including the ability to send and read emails, access edit and delete documents in Google Drive and Google Photos and access browser histories and location information.
There is no mention of what Niantic Labs intends to do with the data it accesses, but users should be aware that full access to a user’s personal data is a huge security risk.
The legitimate app has full access to your private information, but what if that access were to end up in the hands of, say, a malware developer, or an organisation managing a botnet? What security measures do Niantic Labs have in place to protect the mass of data they have obtained? We aren’t sure.
Further, in some countries, the app hasn’t been released yet. Players are downloading the game from third party sites which have teamed up with malware developers. Exploitative versions of the app are giving hackers backdoor access to mobile phones all over the world.
By logging in to the app, you are granting full access to a company that has amassed huge amounts of their users’ personal information without any explanation as to how it will be used, and to any hacker or malware developer who has managed to access it.
Malicious apps can be hard to differentiate from legitimate ones, particularly if they are operating quietly in the background.
So, what can you do to keep your data safe?
It is the opinion of the "pc tricks & cyber security test" Team that using this app is not worth the risk.
It is likely that Niantic Labs will update their privacy policy to align more closely with their other app Ingress, which only needs a player’s basic profile. We advise patience. But, if you must use the app:
- Download the original app from either the official Apple Appstore or Google Play. If it isn’t out in your country yet, please wait for the official release.
- Create a brand new Google account dedicated to the game. Ensure it has no connection to your other personal accounts.
- Stay away from third party download sites
problem no.2:-The Life & Death Of Your Phone’s Battery
All the biggest battery-eating culprits are in action when it comes to Pokémon GO. Your screen is the biggest battery hog, and you’ll be using it plenty. On top of that, you’re going to use your camera so that you can see the Pokémon in the real world. And to top it all off, the ever hungry GPS is a must to even find the Pokémon in the first place. All of this together is a recipe for dead phones.
problem no.3:-Pokémon Go: teenagers caught playing game while driving near pedestrians
Sydney police say the teenagers, who were each fined $325, put themselves and others at great risk
Police have caught two teenagers playing Pokémon Go while driving near a busy pedestrian crossing in western Sydney, which they said put themselves and others at great risk.
Two 17-year-olds were busted while driving on John Street in Cabramatta – a location described by Pokémon fans on Facebook as “lit”.
A New South Wales assistant police commissioner, John Hartley, has called on families to try to help stamp out the playing of Pokémon on the go.
“Now is the time for older siblings and parents of younger drivers to reinforce proper driving behaviour on our roads,” he said. “If this isn’t done, police are there to ensure that it is done ... in the hope we can prevent them being involved in a serious-injury or fatal crash.”
A week ago Northern Territory police took to Facebook to call for aspiring PokeMasters to “stay safe and catch ’em all” by remembering to look up while crossing streets.
“Police have seen an increase in the number of calls about suspicious vehicles and behaviour and people driving while using mobile phones, with the explanation that drivers are ‘looking for Pokémon’,” Tasmania police said on Wednesday.
In Armadale, police on patrol almost hit a pedestrian playing the game.
“Pokemon is dangerous,” police wrote on Twitter. “We just about hit a girl who almost walked in front of us.”
Two 17-year-olds were busted while driving on John Street in Cabramatta – a location described by Pokémon fans on Facebook as “lit”.
A New South Wales assistant police commissioner, John Hartley, has called on families to try to help stamp out the playing of Pokémon on the go.
“Now is the time for older siblings and parents of younger drivers to reinforce proper driving behaviour on our roads,” he said. “If this isn’t done, police are there to ensure that it is done ... in the hope we can prevent them being involved in a serious-injury or fatal crash.”
A week ago Northern Territory police took to Facebook to call for aspiring PokeMasters to “stay safe and catch ’em all” by remembering to look up while crossing streets.
“Police have seen an increase in the number of calls about suspicious vehicles and behaviour and people driving while using mobile phones, with the explanation that drivers are ‘looking for Pokémon’,” Tasmania police said on Wednesday.
In Armadale, police on patrol almost hit a pedestrian playing the game.
“Pokemon is dangerous,” police wrote on Twitter. “We just about hit a girl who almost walked in front of us.”
problem no.4:-Bugs Galore
Many users are reporting all sorts of bugs and issues with the game. These range from US gamers discovering that Pokémon GO “isn’t available in your country” to maps utterly devoid of any and all Pokémon. Other users have reported opening the game to discover that all their progress has been wiped. There are ongoing issues withPokémon GO servers going down as well.
Hopefully these are patched up quickly, but in its current state Pokémon GO may or may not run without issues.
problem no. 5: Micro-Transactions
I have mixed feelings about In-App Purchases in games. On the one hand, this is how companies can monetize “free” content; on the other hand, micro-transactions can fundamentally change the way we experience games. So far, Pokémon GO doesn’t appear to be all that egregious when it comes to IAP’s, but who knows what the future holds? Indeed, if Nintendo and Niantic’s monetization strategy isn’t aggressive enough now, we may see even worse changes down the road just in order for the game to make money.
problem no. 6: Safety First
I’m quite literally waiting for the first news report of a car crash caused by Pokémon GO. Reading tweets, Facebook posts, and forum posts isn’t reassuring. People are playing while walking (obviously) but appear to also be playing while riding their bikes, or driving their cars. People are also walking into strangers’ yards, which could easily lead to confrontations (and hey, we Americans do own a fair number of firearms). There are Gyms in police stations, and even one on the White House. Suffice to say, this type of game/real world hybrid could lead to some safety issues.
While it’s often a bit humorous to hear some of these stories, it’s also a bit disconcerting. I wonder if Nintendo’s legal team is at all nervous. I would be if I were them.
problem no.7: Watered-down Pokémon
For die hard Pokémon fans, the actual gameplay itself may leave something to be desired. Ultimately, this is not a “true” Pokémon game. Battles, stats, the entire experience, really, is a stripped down affair. On the one hand, it has to be to appeal to a wider net of mobile users. On the other hand, Pokémon easily lends itself to touchscreen gaming, and it’s kind of a shame that the more in-depth battle system from the handheld games didn’t make it over to Pokémon GO.
Those are my biggest issues and concerns with Pokémon GO so far. Feel free to share yours in the comments, or tell me how I’m wrong and how I must be a paid shill for Sony and Microsoft, hired to strangle the game in its cradle.
Ultimately, I think Pokémon GO is a really cool game in a lot of ways. I don’t think I’ll play it that much after the initial fun dies off, but I can see this being a really big deal for Nintendo. Certainly it appears to be a success already, and should help convince the game maker that mobile is a viable addition to its broader business model. That’s a win for everyone.
Just remember, don’t play the game while driving, and don’t be a creeper.
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