Skip to main content

Malware hits millions of Android users — delete these apps right now

 


Another batch of malicious apps filled with adware and malware has managed to slip past Google’s defenses and end up on the Play Store.In order to trick unsuspecting users into downloading them, these 36 malicious apps pose as image-editing tools, virtual keyboards, system optimizers, wallpaper changers and other useful tools. 

While these apps promise to add new functionality to your Android smartphone, they actually push intrusive ads, subscribe users to premium services and steal social media accounts instead, according to BleepingComputer. The malicious apps were discovered by security researchers from the antivirus software maker Dr. Web who provided further insight on each of the individual apps in a new report.Although Google has removed most of these bad apps from the Play Store, you will still need to uninstall them manually if you have any of them on your Android devices..


Adware apps that keep running in the background
In addition to just being annoying, adware apps can quickly drain your smartphone’s battery as many of them are designed to continue running in the background even after you close them.
The ones discovered by Dr. Web are actually modifications of existing adware families that first showed up on the Play Store back in May of this year.
These adware apps are also able to run on top of other apps as they request permission to use overlay windows during installation. However, they can keep running in the background as well by adding themselves to the battery saver’s exclusion list in Android.To make matters worse, many of these adware apps also feature the ability to hide their app icons in the app drawer or replace them with a different icon that resembles a core system component such as “SIM Toolkit”.

Of these adware apps, Neon Theme Keyboard by Nataļja Kokorevičs (which is still up in the Play Store at the time of writing) stands out as it has over a million downloads even with a terrible score of 1.8 based on 4,000 reviews. Fortunately though, it does seem like Google Play Protect has begun warning users about the app based on reviews from the Play Store.

Joker apps that subscribe users to premium services
Dr. Web’s researchers also found malicious apps on the Play Store that infect users’ devices with the infamous Joker malware. 

These apps are particularly dangerous since this malware strain has the ability to sign up victims to premium subscription services without their knowledge. Unfortunately, two of the malicious apps in Dr. Web’s list (Water Reminder- Tracker & Reminder by YPC Dev and Yoga- For Beginner to Advanced by ALHASSAN) are still available to download and have yet to be removed from the Play Store.Although both apps actually provide the functionality described in their Play Store listings, they also perform malicious actions in the background.

Image editing apps that steal your Facebook account. 
1Having your Facebook account hacked can be devastating, especially when it’s a Facebook Business account, which is why two of the malicious apps discovered by Dr. Web’s researchers need to be uninstalled immediately.These two apps (YouToon – AI Cartoon Effect and Pista – Cartoon Photo Effect) disguise themselves as image editing tools that can apply cartoon filters over regular images and have been downloaded from the Play Store over 1.5 million times.

Both apps have been designed to steal data from your Android smartphone that can be used to hack into your Facebook account.

Protecting yourself from malicious apps on the Play Store
In order to avoid intrusive ads, being subscribed to premium services against your will or having your social media accounts stolen, the first thing you should do is look through the list below to make sure that none of these malicious apps are installed on your Android smartphone or tablet. 

If they are, remove them immediately and consider using one of the best Android antivirus apps to look for any viruses that may have been left behind.

Photo Editor: Beauty Filter 
Photo Editor: Retouch & Cutout 
Photo Editor: Art Filters 
Photo Editor - Design Maker 
Photo Editor & Background Eraser 
Photo & Exif Editor 
Photo Editor - Filters Effects 
Photo Filters & Effects 
Photo Editor : Blur Image 
Photo Editor : Cut, Paste
Emoji Keyboard: Stickers & GIF
Neon Theme Keyboard 
Neon Theme - Android Keyboard 
Cashe Cleaner
FastCleaner: Cashe Cleaner
Call Skins - Caller Themes
Funny Caller 
CallMe Phone Themes
InCall: Contact Background 
MyCall - Call Personalization 
Caller Theme
Caller Theme 
Funny Wallpapers - Live Screen 
4K Wallpapers Auto Changer
NewScrean: 4D Wallpapers
Stock Wallpapers & Backgrounds 
Notes - reminders and lists 
At the same time, you should also avoid installing apps from unknown sources and instead download them from official stores like the Google Play Store, Amazon App Store or Samsung Galaxy App Store. Even then, bad apps do manage to slip past Google’s defenses from time to time which is why you should always check user reviews and ratings, visit developer websites and read the privacy policy of every app you install. I know it’s a lot but it’s worth doing if you want to be on the safe side.
Finally, you should ensure that Google Play Protect is active on your devices as it regularly checks for malicious apps and warns you if you try to install one... 


@Dollars Jason


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AUPCTRE to Buhari: Save NDDC from destruction, inaugurate board

The groundswell of agitation for the inauguration of the substantive board of NDDC in compliance with the law, has continued to rise with the demand from a Labour group, the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) to President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) The appeal was contained in a statement issued by the General Secretary of AUPCTRE, Comrade Sikiru Wahid, on Sunday, August 14, 2022. The labour union said the call has become imperative to save the commission from destruction. There has been unending calls by authentic stakeholders who have consistently demanded that the NDDC Act should be complied with in the governance of the Commission noting that it is illegal to have contraptions of interim management committees / sole administrator to administer the NDDC and arbitrarily utilise the monthly sums due to the Commission.  AUPCTRE in th...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Nigerian is creating software to help the world understand babies’ cries

                              Charles Onu Source: TechCabal When life gives you lemons, you can do whatever you want with them. Problems, on the other hand, require solutions that come from deep thinking and, sometimes, experience. For Canada-based Charles Onu, the problems he experienced in Nigeria formed the womb that would later produce Ubenwa, his innovative healthtech startup that leverages advanced technology to preserve the lives of newborns. In most parts of the world, immediately after a child is born, it undergoes a test called APGAR scoring. This test is a non-invasive examination of the baby that helps to identify whether the child has a medical condition to be treated. At that stage of the baby’s life, though, almost every illness can fall under the life-threatening category, which is why early diagnoses are imperative.  Regrettably, APGAR scoring is a lagging indicator ( a method th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghanaian Float acquires Nigerian Accounteer to provide accounting services to small businesses

Float co-founders, Jesse Ghansah (CEO) and Barima Effah Adjei (CPO). Image source: Float Float, a Ghanaian cash flow and spend management platform, has completed a full acquisition of Accounteer, a Nigerian subscription-based cloud-based accounting service that combines bookkeeping, tax prep, and financial advisory services all in one platform for African businesses, for an undisclosed amount.    This deal is coming 8 months after Float closed its $17 million equity and debt seed funding, one of Africa’s biggest seed rounds. According to Jesse Ghansah, who co-founded Float with Barima Effah Adjei in 2021, the conversation that led to the acquisition started in 2021, and it took close to 10 months before the deal was finally closed.  Ghansah and Adjei founded Swipe in 2020 to provide invoicing services to businesses. But in June 2021, the company rebranded to Float to extend credit to businesses against their receivables. That is, it gives loans to companies t...
Post a Comment
Read more