Recently Google Play expelled 49 malware contaminated apps from Play Store. But, the thing which is more concerning, in my opinion, is how these apps bypass the security protocols and come into the Google Play Store. The combined installations of those 49 apps are more than 3 million.
According to Trend Micro the security company which has detected these malware apps, These apps are typical adware, hiding within mobile devices to show ads and deploying anti-uninstall and evasion functions.
Even after deleting those apps, the same hanging & other problems exist in the smartphone.
HERE IS THE LIST OF ALL THE INFECTED APPS
- Check out whether any of these apps have on your phone or not. If still, they are present then delete them immediately.
HOW THESE APPS SHOW ADDS(BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS)
These apps disguise their icons and push full-screen ads onto a victim’s device. The trend micro team also found that these apps are equipped with several effective evasion tactics.
The adware app will create many duplicate shortcuts for the browser icon.
If you have Android 8.0 or later versions, these apps can not create a shortcut without users’ permission. But, if you have an older version of Android, then these apps are very hard to detect.
For Example, it opens a blank web page when the fake Chrome icon is clicked, and then the page gets refreshed into a full-screen ad.
PLAY STORE REVIEWS ALSO CONFIRMS THIS
In the reviews of apps, you can see that users have reported that, full-screen ads pop up every several minutes, ads pop up when users click anywhere on the screen, ads show whenever the user unlocks an infected phone’s screen.
CONSEQUENCES OF THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOUR
- The battery drains faster.
- Users annoy and become frustrated.
- Every time users will have to uninstall several apps in order to find infected apps.
- Infected apps slow the device.
- The apps tend to subscribe to anonymous services.
PRECAUTIONS TO BE SAFE FROM THESE APPS
The malware apps can cause you a lot of headaches. So, be safe by following these tips. I hope, these tips will help you.
1- If you have download these apps earlier then check your phone for any subscriptions. If it has some unknown subscriptions immediately remove them.
2- Also, check for apps list infected with Agent Smith virus and if you have them instantly remove them. Link for apps list Agent Smith infected apps list
3- Scan your phone with the Play Scan available on Google Play Store.
4- Check for the latest update for your Device. Ensure that it has the latest security updates.
5- Always keep your apps updated.
6- Always keep ‘Unknown Sources’ disabled.
7- Download apps when you need them and always from the Play Store.
8- Never download apps from the apk sites. From the first day, since I created this website, I am always warned my readers to do it.
9- Don’t download movies from pirated sites.
10- Don’t download adult and virus content. Be extra safe from them.
11- Never ever open unknown e-mails, SMS, or URL links from unknown publishers.
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Daniel
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