Hacked

New Adware Found in Google Play Apps Infecting Millions Of Android Users


Image: Phandroid

 

Generally the mischievous applications on the Android store Google Play don’t last long due to Google’s security measures or complaints of users. But, a recent report from the antivirus firm Avast tells about the discovery of a new malware on Google Play store in a recent batch of apps. Avast has caught this malware in many applications and some of these apps are with millions of downloads. This malware is being called ‘adware’  because of its nature. The affected apps are having a huge target audience i.e. in English speaking regions and more. This adware begins to display advertisements which are the disguised warnings to users. Avast researcher Filip Chytry noticed this malware when a user commented on a forum reporting about some unusual activity in an app.

How this Adware works?


Image: Avast

The Durak Card Game app is the most widespread affected application with 5-10 million download. After installing, the app works behaves normally and it shows its true colors after a couple of days and reboot. Sometimes the adware starts its activity after 30 days. Now each time you unlock your device, you are greeted with false warnings and problems like your phone is out of date, full of porn or it is infected. You are prompted to take action to curb these problems. Now the re-directed landing page does the rest process by sending collecting your private data or by sending premium SMS. Avast reports that in some cases this adware also directed the users to security apps on Google Play.

Also read: Google’s Search Share Below 75% in U.S, Lowest in 5 Years Due to Yahoo-on-Firefox

What are the steps taken?


After the reporting, Google has removed three apps from Google Play which were the most affected ones. These apps include Durak Card Game, an IQ test app a Russian history app. If you have installed such apps and are getting warnings, uninstall the app from your device. This is another proof that Android requires a security app and that you can’t fully rely on Google Play.


  Are you using some security app for your Android device? Tell us in comments below.

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