Despite all of Google’s best efforts, the Android Play Store is not free from malware. These apps silently infiltrate and attack the smartphones of whoever installs them. A new batch of 43 apps has been found raising questions about the security of users, their data and their smartphones. It’s time to remove these apps!
The applications in question are part of a very specific campaign that wants to spread what is known as adware. This is an ad-focused malware that infiltrates smartphones to bombard its victims with ads that appear even when the screen is off.
The latest Android security breach came to show that 43 apps are in the Play Store and are spreading an adware campaign. Adherence to these proposals appears to be high, with the malware distributed with more than 2.5 million installs on users' smartphones.
As in other situations, the way for the attackers to monetize their campaign was through displaying ads, particularly discreetly. For this he took advantage of the moments when he was not used to doing his harmful work.
If in many cases displaying ads is not a problem and even helps programmers, there are situations where it cannot be used. This practice violates Google's policies for Android and the Play Store. Moreover, this background used practice leads to excessive consumption of battery and mobile data.
43 apps analyzed were found mainly in the proposals posing as video players for watching TV, apps for downloading music, news and calendar apps. The full list can be found at Published report to expose this problem.
Since this security issue was reported, Google has already cleaned up the Play Store. The apps have been removed and are now prevented from infecting new smartphones and new users with their malware. However, if they are present on the device, they must be removed immediately by the users.
