The Google Play Store continues to have problems detecting malware. No matter what the company does, malicious apps continue to appear and of course there are too many people who install them.
Independent security researcher Andy Michael from New Zealand discovered four different VPN apps for Android with total downloads of over 500 million.
The apps are adware that not only display ads in the background, but also outside of the apps, on the home screen of each device.
The apps in question are Hotspot VPN, Free VPN Master, Secure VPN, and Security Master from Cheetah Mobile. It is noteworthy that all of these apps originate from Hong Kong and China, where almost all mobile device owners use VPNs to bypass the Great Firewall.
The apps continue to exist in the Google Play Store to this day.
