Why is Google warning its Users Against Downloading the Bard App? Read Story to Find Out،
American tech giant Google is no stranger to malware and millions of users are affected by this issue on Android. However, in recent months, Google has faced a new malware challenge, involving Google’s own AI chatbot, Bard. Apparently, Google Bard is misused by fraudsters to infect malware in users’ systems. Scammers have created fake Bard applications, downloading which the user’s system will be infected with malware.
Most people know that Google Bard is not an application and cannot be downloaded. Google has repeatedly claimed that Bard is available on the browser and is free to use, but some still fall into such traps. Those who are unaware download fake Bard apps from the Play Store which Google claims are malware installed on the devices. This is the reason why Google warns its users against downloading Bard applications.
What is Bard?
Google Bard launched in March 2023 and is Google’s answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It offers similar features but doesn’t work as elaborately as ChatGPT. Scammers exploit this weakness to trick innocent users into downloading fake Bard apps.
Google Bard can explain any concept, plan trips, give suggestions and much more. Currently, Google Bard is only available in web browsers and requires a Google account to use it. There are no legal Bard apps available on the Play Store and they are all malware that Google is working hard to remove.
What did Google do to stop this Malware Challenge?
Google is visibly furious about these fraudulent practices and has repeatedly warned them of the legal consequences. Google asked them to stop publishing ads or posts for Bard which allows users to download their fake malicious apps. Several groups have been created on Facebook that offer push ads suggesting users to download the Bard app to get a better experience and the latest updates.
Although many know that there is no Bard app, unfortunately there is a huge portion who always fall for these ads and get trapped in the scam. They download these applications which are malware in disguise and infect their systems.
Google’s position is ambitious, as legal action will not stand if the actions are taken outside the jurisdiction of the United States. This is a difficult task for Google to accomplish as they need to get rid of millions of malicious apps from the Play Store since Android is extremely popular and much more accessible than the iOS store. However, Google will need to put an end to this scam because Bard is a big part of the company’s plans for the future and if this malware challenge doesn’t end, Bard’s credibility will take a huge hit.
A few days ago, Kaspersky (a leading antivirus brand) shed light on this critical malware issue for Google. He claimed that more than 600 million downloads of malicious apps were recorded on the Play Store in 2023 itself. Bard is supposed to compete with chatbots like ChatGPT and if this scam doesn’t end, things won’t go very well for Google and Bard.
On November 13, 2023, Google announced on its official blog “The Keyword” that the company was taking legal action and taking legal action against scammers allegedly based in Vietnam. The complaint filed can be consulted on Thomson Reuters.
The scammers created pages under names like “Google AI”, “AIGoogle”, “Bard FB”, etc., and served many advertisements to download versions of apps to provide a better experience. To deceive users, scammers used Google brands such as Google, Google AI, and Bard so that users would believe they were offering the latest version of Bard.
Google has clarified that the company has no affiliation with these scammers who even claim that Bard is a paid application when Google Bard itself is free and does not need to be downloaded.
Google has submitted 300 takedown requests against these scammers since April 2023 and wants them to be blocked from registering future malicious domains and disabled with US domain registrars. The company hopes that the use of legal action and cooperation with government officials will help expose fraudsters more quickly and protect users from this scam. “Lawsuits are an effective tool for establishing legal precedent, disrupting the tools used by fraudsters, and increasing consequences for bad actors,” Google General Counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado wrote in the Google blog.
Much like crypto scams, the lawsuit mentions how interest in an emerging technology can be used against people who may not fully understand how it works and this is used against them.
What should users do?
If you have seen an ad on Facebook about downloading an app version of Google Bard, think twice and take a step back because it is just malware. There is absolutely no app version of Google Bard as of today, so stick with a free web version until Google officially announces an app. Use the web version and always check the reliability of the source before installing any software. Google Bard is currently available for free at bard.google.com for use in your web browser.
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