NEW ANDROID ADWARE INFECTS MORE THAN 200 APPS ON GOOGLE PLAY
ADWARE is becoming more aggressive these days especially on Android operating systems and becoming one of the most widespread mobile threats in the world.
Adware is embedded in mostly free software apps and is designed to display advertisements on your computer. If Adware does not notify you that it is gathering information, it is regarded as malicious and Adware takes control of your browser to track your activity, show you deceptive ads and redirect you to suspicious websites
For example, malware that uses Trojan spy behaviour.
Not long ago in January Google had removed 85 apps from its Play Store after finding out that they were pushing aggressive, full-screen Adware to Android users disguised in games, streaming TV, and remote control simulator apps in the Google Play store and had collectively been installed by nine million users all over the world. Android fans were warned about dozens of Google Play Store apps which had infected millions of smartphones across the globe. One malware- filled app which appeared on the Google Play Store was downloaded more than five million times by Android users.
The fake Android apps, discovered on the Google Play Store by security experts Trend Micro, were in total downloaded nine million times.
The “Easy Universal TV Remote” was the most downloaded Android app out of the 85 malware-filled programmes. Other apps included Police Chase Extreme City 3D Game, Prado Parking City 3D Game, Moto Racing, Parking Game, TV WORLD, SPORT TV, A/C Air Conditioner Remote, Garage Door Remote Control and many more.
The ads will show up uncontrollably, as at every move, tap or click, the fake apps eventually end up displaying an ad that generates money for their maker.
According to tech crunch on Wednesday this week, Security researchers found a new kind of mobile adware hidden in hundreds of Android apps, and downloaded more than 150 million times from Google Play.
The malware masquerading as an ad-serving platform, dubbed SimBad by researchers at security firm Check Point, infected more than 200 apps which, likely unbeknown to the app developer, would open a backdoor to install additional malware as a way to outsmart Google’s app store scanning. Once installed, the downloaded malware also removes the app icon and persists in the background, loading each time the device boots up. Once the malware retrieves its instructions from the command and control server, the malware runs through lists of web addresses in the background, serving ads to generate fraudulent revenue.
Check Point provided a list of the apps, which Google pulled from Google Play following a disclosure by the security researchers. The top 10 downloaded games amount to 55 million downloads and the following are the top 10 downloads: Snow Heavy Excavator Simulator, Hoverboard Racing, Real Tractor Farming Simulator, Ambulance Rescue Driving, Heavy Mountain Bus Simulator, Fire Truck Emergency Driver, Farming Tractor Real Harvest Simulator, Car Parking Challenge, Speed Boat Jet Ski Racing and Water Surfing Car Stunt
Aviran Hazum, a mobile threat intelligence team leader at Check Point, in an email to TechCrunch Hazum said the malware might be an adware for now, but has the potential to evolve into a larger threat. Google’s official figures put the number of apps it removed last year at about 700,000.
Last year, Google said it had made “significant improvements” in its ability to detect problematic apps and that it was able to remove 99 percent of them before they had ever been installed. But bad apps keep making it through, and the presence of SimBad is the latest evidence that Google still has work to do on improving its Play Store screenings and keeping Android users safe from malicious apps. Other malware like BankBot can steal login credentials for more than banking applications. Past versions were also able to steal login details for apps such as Facebook, Viber, Youtube, WhatsApp, Uber, Snapchat, WeChat, IMO, Instagram, Twitter, and the Google Play Store. Furthermore, BankBot could also lock the user's device in a ransomware-like behaviour, and intercept SMS messages for the ability to bypass two-step verification operations.
Precautions for android malware Always take a few basic precautions and you can avoid these potentially dangerous apps.
1. Uninstall suspected malware virus affected apps: Go to the Menu & Click on Apps Manager and uninstall apps you don’t frequently use including apps you suspect..
2. Check your app security status;
You can check the status of Google Play Protect on your device:
Open your Android device’s Google Play Store app.
Tap Menu Play Protect. Look for information about the status of your device.
3. Keep a good antivirus app on your Android device that can detect and block such malicious activities before they can infect your device, and keep your device and apps up-to-date.
4. Evaluate apps trustworthy before you give it access to your system by checking the number of times an app has been installed and checking out its reviews, if a lot of people are giving negative reviews, it’s probably not worth downloading.
The easiest way to avoid falling victim to such attacks in the future is to always beware of fishy applications, even when downloading them from official Play Store and try to stick to the trusted brands only.
For comments and contributions or if you have a question or topic you would like us to cover in this column, email me on slickmedia6@gmail.com. Text or WhatsApp +260977258265.