Subj : These Android apps are nothing but adware, but have been installe
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Sat Oct 28 2023 12:30:06

These Android apps are nothing but adware, but have been installed over 2 
million times already - so uninstall now

Date:
Sat, 28 Oct 2023 11:15:07 +0000

Description:
Researchers found a bunch of Android trojans on the Google Play Store.

FULL STORY
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Cybersecurity researchers from Dr.Web discovered a handful of Android apps 
that were pushing ads and stealthily subscribing people to premium services. 

The reserachers reported that these trojan apps, all found on Googles 
official Play Store app repository, were cumulatively installed roughly two 
million times. 

The apps were pretending to be games, messengers, and wallpaper apps, among 
others, and were mostly distributing three known malware families - FakeApp, 
Joker, and HiddenAds. A million downloads 

Upon installing one of these apps, they would immediately change their icon 
on the device, to something the user would reluctantly remove, such as the 
Chrome browser . In some cases, the researchers added, the trojans would 
simply remove their icons altogether, to seem as if there is an empty space 
in the app drawer. 

The apps would then launch in the background, and deliver ads to the victim 
via their browser. That way, they would generate significant profits for the 
developers. The ads included things like casino websites, fake investments, 
and similar - all of which are in violation of Googles policies. 

The biggest trojan that managed to move past Googles defenses and into the 
Play Store is Super Skibydi Killer, a game app with a million downloads. 
Other notable mentions include Agent Shooter (500,000 downloads), Rubber 
Punch 3D (500,000 downloads), and Rainbow Stretch (50,000 downloads). 

There are also apps that subscribe the victim to premium services without 
their knowledge, including Love Emoji Messenger (Korsinka Vimoipan) with 
50,000 downloads, and Beauty Wallpaper HD (fm0989184) with 1,000 downloads. 

While Google removed all of the apps from the Play Store before this article 
was published, that only protects future potential victims. Those that have 
already downloaded the apps can only be safe if they remove them from their 
endpoints. If you suspect your device was compromised, besides the 
abovementioned apps, look for these: 

Eternal Maze (Yana Pospyelova) 

Jungle Jewels (Vaibhav Wable) 

Stellar Secrets (Pepperstocks) 

Fire Fruits (Sandr Sevill) 

Cowboy's Frontier (Precipice Game Studios) 

Enchanted Elixir (Acomadyi) 

 Via BleepingComputer More from TechRadar Pro This dangerous Android malware 
could steal passwords and other data just by using images Here's a list of 
the best firewalls today These are the best ID theft protection services 
around



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/these-android-apps-are-nothing-but-adwa
re-but-have-been-installed-over-2-million-times-already-so-uninstall-now


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