Avast ye, mateys! Be on guard fer these treacherous Android apps, laden with deceitful adware, arrr!
2023-11-01
Avast, me hearties! Be warned, ye Android phone wielders, fer there be scurvy apps afoot aimin' to bombard ye with ads! Fear not, for the wily Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson be sharin' secrets on how to protect yer precious booty!
Dr.Web has identified several Android apps that are secretly serving ads and signing users up for premium services. These apps, which were downloaded about two million times from the Google Play Store, disguised themselves as innocent games, messaging platforms, and wallpaper tools. However, their underlying code was associated with malware types known as FakeApp, Joker, and HiddenAds.Once installed, these apps change their icons to something users are less likely to delete, such as the Chrome browser icon, or even remove their icons entirely, creating a gap in the app collection. They run silently in the background, bombarding victims with ads through their browsers. These ads violate Google's ad protocols and generate income for the malicious app creators.
One of the main culprits, Super Skibydi Killer, had over one million downloads. Google has taken action by removing these apps from the Play Store, but it's important for users to manually remove them from their devices to ensure security. Google Play Protect, the built-in malware protection for Android devices, may not be foolproof in removing all known malware.
To protect against malware, users should install good antivirus software, limit the number of apps on their phones, check the rating and reviews of apps before installing, and be cautious with the permissions granted to new apps. Additionally, users should be mindful of what they download and the permissions they grant to apps.
In conclusion, it is crucial to be vigilant and cautious when downloading apps on Android devices to avoid falling victim to sneaky and dangerous apps. Google's efforts to protect Android users from malware are commendable, but additional steps should be taken by users to ensure their device's security.