Google removes 85 adware apps that were installed by millions of users

guest · Jan 8, 2019

Google removes 85 adware apps that were installed by millions of users
Adware-infected apps masqueraded as games and TV remote controllers
January 8, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/googl...pps-that-were-installed-by-millions-of-users/

The 85 apps had been downloaded over nine million times, and one app, in particular, named "Easy Universal TV Remote," was downloaded over five million times, according to researchers.

While the apps were uploaded on the Play Store from different developer accounts and were signed by different digital certificates, they exhibited similar behaviors and shared the same code, researchers said in a report published today.

[...] unbeknownst to the user, the app would continue to run in the phone's background, showing new fullscreen ads ever 15 or 30 minutes, generating profits for the fraudsters until users either removed the apps or reset devices to factory settings as a last resort.
Trend Micro says it reported all apps to Google and the OS maker reacted quickly and removed the offending apps immediately after confirming their report.
Click to expand...

List of 85 adware apps (PDF): https://documents.trendmicro.com/assets/AdwareFoundonGooglePlay_Appendix.pdf

Minimalist · Jan 11, 2019

New Batch of 9 Adware Apps in Google Play Installed Over 8 Million Times

Google is yet to boot from the Play store another batch of fake apps built only to show advertisements on users' devices. A researcher has uncovered nine of them, with a total install count of over eight million.

Among the most in-demand of this set of offensive apps are four with over 500,000 installs from the official Android store, one with over one million, and another that shows a whopping five million installs.
Click to expand...

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...n-google-play-installed-over-8-million-times/

guest · Jul 2, 2019

Adware Apps in Google Play Kept Still To Evade Detection
July 2, 2019
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...in-google-play-kept-still-to-evade-detection/

An adware campaign supported by as many as 182 mobile apps managed to push advertisements to millions of users on Google Play and third-party Android store.
Most of the apps made it to the official Android repository and just eight of them had been installed more than nine million times before they were finally removed.

The ad-spewing conduct was masked by the functionality related to games and phone camera; this sort of apps is very popular among Android users. The software would function as expected by the user, for at least 30 minutes; then the malicious code would kick in blasting full-screen advertisements that could not be closed immediately.

In total, Trend Micro found 111 apps on Google Play and the rest spread on third-party stores like 9Apps and PP Assistant.
Only 43 of the adware apps found in the official Android repository "were unique or had distinct features." The rest were duplicates of these or other iterations. None of them are currently available on Google Play.
Click to expand...

[...] This means that they've been present in Android store for at least half a year.
Click to expand...

Trend Micro: Adware Campaign Identified From 182 Game and Camera Apps on Google Play and Third-Party Stores Like 9Apps

Log in or Sign up

Google removes 85 adware apps that were installed by millions of users

guest Guest

Minimalist Registered Member

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Google removes 85 adware apps that were installed by millions of users

guest Guest

Minimalist Registered Member

guest Guest

Useful Searches