Security News Parents Can End Up Installing RATs Instead Of Legitimate Parental Control Software

[Exterminator]

Parents looking for a way to monitor their child's online activities may turn to malware known as Remote Access Trojans (RATs) due to their proliferation and low cost.

There's a difference between RATs and parental control software, which some might also call spyware. Unlike the latter, RATs don't come with blocking features.

Parental control software, while it's as intrusive as RATs and logs certain details about how a child uses his device, does provide a parent with the ability to block certain apps from the device, proving to be useful in some other way than just spying on kids.

On the other hand, RATs don't provide a similar feature. Parents looking into installing parental control software might cross the boundary from legitimate software to full-on malware due to a lack of understanding on what differentiates the two products.

It's easy to end up on a RAT's homepage these days
Parents looking at software packages like mSpy, TeenSafe, Mobile Fence, or PhoneSherrif, all legitimate parental control software, might very easily end up installing malware like Revenge, Orcus, Ozone, JBifrost (Adwind), Remcos, or Darktrack.

All of these are commercially available RATs advertised on legitimate-looking sites as remote administration tools or parental control software when they don't provide anything outside the ability to sniff on the computers they infect.

They price points between which these products are sold is the same as for commercial parental control software.

Parents should stick with known & reviewed brands only
In some cases, RATs come backdoored out of the gate by the crook distributing it, so while the parent keeps an eye on his kid, the RAT author is keeping an eye on both. Parents should always do research before buying or installing anything on their kids' devices.

There's a growing trend around the world of parents deploying apps on their kids' smartphones to monitor and block calls, SMS, and apps, just like there's a trend for kids that install apps to hide their activities from parental control software.

Parents should be very careful about the products they choose to deploy. Telling kids that they keep an eye on the way they use their devices is also recommended because parents avoid losing the child's trust and end up alienating them in the end.

 

[frogboy]

Some scary stuff right there. A good read though.

 

[tonibalas]

Very nice article.
But installing malware instead of legit programs i just don't get it

 

[ElectricSheep]

Very nice article.
But installing malware instead of legit programs i just don't get it

The world is a crazy place. I don't understand it either

 

[CMLew]

I voted yes.
Put ourselves into the parents' shoes and we might realise that as a parent we can do (and we would) anything we can in order to ensure our kids are safe, even if it have to go the wrong way.

However, parents should be made known of the risk and consequence of using that. After that it's up to the parents to decide.

 

[DardiM]

I voted No.
There are a lot of legitimate tools to monitor our child's online activities.

 

[Omnipotent]

I voted no. Instead of spying on them, why not prevent it in the first place? It's wrong for a parent to spy on their children with a RAT. Instead they can filter what websites they're allowed to visit and the content that is able to be viewed. As @DardiM mentioned there are many legitimate tools. Some that can limit the amount of time spent on a device, alternatively you could take the traditional route and unplug/hide the router.

 

[Exterminator]

A no for me as installing a RAT is just a bit overboard.
However I think the other problem lies in that Parents in their search to find something to monitor their children's activities are not educated themselves.
They just click away and although not wanting a RAT,not even knowing what one is,end up with something they didn't bargain for.

 

[ElectricSheep]

A no for me as installing a RAT is just a bit overboard.
However I think the other problem lies in that Parents in their search to find something to monitor their children's activities are not educated themselves.
They just click away and although not wanting a RAT,not even knowing what one is,end up with something they didn't bargain for.

This just reminds me of that story a couple of weeks ago about the Houston mum who had her webcam that was watching over her daughters which got hacked and plastered all over the place so nasty people could watch it. I shudder to think what could happen if someone took control of a RAT and used it for spying on the kids... Horrible thought

 

[Bryan Lam]

Well, Heres what I don't understand.
There are around 2-3 places on the web which sell RAT's
-The Dark Web (Tor)
-Hackforums
-Dodgy Resellers

It'd be hard for a parent to obtain a legit RAT, even if they wanted to.

I'd say stay away from monitoring your kids. Restricting them doesn't help them learn at all. Let them learn from their mistakes

 

[hjlbx]

Most parents are typical users and don't know enough about IT - let alone IT security - to make informed choices.

RATs re-packaged as parental control software is a brilliant - and not surprising - move on the part of the malc0der(s).

The parents don't know it is a RAT, that it can monitor device traffic and potentially phone home to a C & C.

If the RAT is sold completely stripped of its most malicious capabilities - e.g. doesn't phone home - it is now being used for a "legitimate" purpose - so can it be classified as malware ? By its very definition malware is software used for malicious purposes - which in this specific case it is not used maliciously. It's a very grey area.

In the United States at least, parents have unrestricted rights to spy on their children until the age of legal consent (usually 18).

This is basically the very argument that nation states make when criticized for using spyware; that their agencies are "legitimate," there is a need, and it is all legal according to existing laws.

* * * * *

If a parent feels the need to spy on their child in the first place, then there is a much larger problem. In that case, much more drastic\complex measures are needed to address the problem(s) than simply installing parental control software.

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

I have 3 daughters, and I voted "No"
I educate them and trust them, when it gets bad enough that I feel I have to stoop to a rat to snoop
then its time to take the device. My girls are smart, beautiful, and well behaved I don't see a Rat in our
futures.

 

[CMLew]

I have 3 daughters, and I voted "No"
I educate them and trust them, when it gets bad enough that I feel I have to stoop to a rat to snoop
then its time to take the device. My girls are smart, beautiful, and well behaved I don't see a Rat in our
futures.

You have a good firewall (yourself) that protects your system (your daughters) well. Make sure you have protection for ransomware (their bf) too.

 

[ElectricSheep]

I have 3 daughters, and I voted "No"
I educate them and trust them, when it gets bad enough that I feel I have to stoop to a rat to snoop
then its time to take the device. My girls are smart, beautiful, and well behaved I don't see a Rat in our
futures.

Confiscation definitely works! And its free...

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

You have a good firewall (yourself) that protects your system (your daughters) well. Make sure you have protection for ransomware (their bf) too.

You know I do, as well as a very nice shotty to greet the boys with

 

[Bryan Lam]

Parents looking for a way to monitor their child's online activities may turn to malware known as Remote Access Trojans (RATs) due to their proliferation and low cost.

There's a difference between RATs and parental control software, which some might also call spyware. Unlike the latter, RATs don't come with blocking features.

Parental control software, while it's as intrusive as RATs and logs certain details about how a child uses his device, does provide a parent with the ability to block certain apps from the device, proving to be useful in some other way than just spying on kids.

On the other hand, RATs don't provide a similar feature. Parents looking into installing parental control software might cross the boundary from legitimate software to full-on malware due to a lack of understanding on what differentiates the two products.

It's easy to end up on a RAT's homepage these days
Parents looking at software packages like mSpy, TeenSafe, Mobile Fence, or PhoneSherrif, all legitimate parental control software, might very easily end up installing malware like Revenge, Orcus, Ozone, JBifrost (Adwind), Remcos, or Darktrack.

Exteminator, I'd like to mention I believe it's Remote Administration Tool. Not so much Access "Trojans" due to the fact that they can be used for legal purposes.

 

[askmark]

Is Parental control software really that expensive -surely there are free/low cost programs available can do a decent job?

I have 3 daughters, and I voted "No"
I educate them and trust them, when it gets bad enough that I feel I have to stoop to a rat to snoop
then its time to take the device. My girls are smart, beautiful, and well behaved I don't see a Rat in our
futures.

I have 2 daughters and voted 'No' also. I also agree that education and trust are the way forward, certainly not spying.

 

[DardiM]

Am I the only one who think that children, even well educated, like to do things unauthorized by their parents ? Even when browsing.
I voted no, but I think parental control is normal from "good" parents

 

[nclr11111]

I´ll just copy/paste my answer to the exact same question on another forum:
"
If your ok with governments and agencies snooping in your computer in a "big brother" way then i guess it´s ok for you to snoop in your childs. But if you´re against privacy invasion by anyone i´d say it would be double standards to snoop on your kids.

I´d never do it. Instead i talk alot with my kids about what they´re doing online, what to avoid, how to behave etc. Freedom with responsibility.

I mean, why should your kids trust you if you don´t trust them and how are they supposed to grow up and develop with the knowledge they´re always being watched and tracked?

Just my 5 cents.....

"
BUT as an addition i can accept a parental software in which you can block certain webpages etc. even if i have chosen not to use any myself. But no logging!
We all do mistakes and learn from them. My job as a parent is to educate my children how to avoid making the big ones and help them get throw when they make the small ones NOT put them into a glass box and scrutinize everything they do with the motiviation it´s for their own good!

 

[DardiM]

I´ll just copy/paste my answer to the exact same question on another forum:
"
If your ok with governments and agencies snooping in your computer in a "big brother" way then i guess it´s ok for you to snoop in your childs. But if you´re against privacy invasion by anyone i´d say it would be double standards to snoop on your kids.

I´d never do it. Instead i talk alot with my kids about what they´re doing online, what to avoid, how to behave etc. Freedom with responsibility.

I mean, why should your kids trust you if you don´t trust them and how are they supposed to grow up and develop with the knowledge they´re always being watched and tracked?

Just my 5 cents.....

"
BUT as an addition i can accept a parental software in which you can block certain webpages etc. even if i have chosen not to use any myself. But no logging!
We all do mistakes and learn from them. My job as a parent is to educate my children how to avoid making the big ones and help them get throw when they make the small ones NOT put them into a glass box and scrutinize everything they do with the motivation it´s for their own good!

(I remember I voted NO for RAT)
What I will wrote depend a lot from the age of concerned kids.
You can't put at equality government and family, children and adults : not the same conscience of things, bad / good behavior. Your kids are under your responsibility. And you can't compare all children : each child is completely different from another. Stop thinking adults and kids have the same degree of analysis from situations, degree of conscience, experience, or that "well educated" kids will do all what they parents asked them. A control parental is not a "spying to spy". But a protection to avoid very bad situation for our kids. blocking some word from search, etc...,
Example : avoid bad situations from social network with bad guys the other side...