A new series of phishing, malware, and adware have infiltrated the Google Play store, tricking over two million people into installing them.
See also: The best Google Play apps and games for 2022
Dr. Web antivirus has discovered several applications that, while appearing as useful utilities and system optimizers, are actually responsible for poor performance, ads, and user experience issues.
One app that has garnered a million downloads, as Dr. Web shows, is TubeBox which remains available on Google Play at the moment.
TubeBox is experiencing multiple errors when users try to redeem rewards, failing to deliver on its promises of monetary compensation for watching videos and ads.
Researchers report that even users who complete the withdrawal process never receive the money. The goal is to keep them in the app for as long as possible and generate revenue through advertising.
Some other adware applications that have been observed include:
- Bluetooth device auto connect (bt auto connect group) – 1,000,000 downloads
- Bluetooth & Wi-Fi & USB driver (simple things for everyone) – 100,000 downloads
- Volume, Music Equalizer (bt autoconnect group) – 50,000 downloads
- Fast Cleaner & Cooling Master (Hippo VPN LLC) – 500 downloads
The aforementioned applications load the websites specified in the commands they receive from Firebase Cloud Messaging , which then creates fraudulent ads on any infected devices
See also: Does the new Google Play System update bring the digital driver's license?
For Fast Cleaner & Cooling Master, which had a low download volume, remote operators could also configure an infected device to act as a proxy server.
Dr. Web discovered a series of scam apps claiming to be affiliated with Russian banks and investment groups. Each app had an average of 10,000 downloads on Google Play.
These apps were advertised as guaranteed investment profits, but in reality they led users to phishing websites where their personal information.
To protect yourself from any malicious apps on Google Play, be sure to check for bad reviews, check the privacy policy, and visit the developer to make sure it's legitimate.
Limit the number of apps on your device to a minimum and check every now and then if Google's Play Protect is active.
Google Play is an online store that offers a wide variety of content for Android. This includes everything from apps and games to music, books, and movies. You can access Google Play from your Android device or on the web at play.google.com.
See also: Google Play System update: Other changes in the new update
For developers, Google Play is a great way to reach millions of potential customers. They can submit their apps and games to the store and make them available to users around the world.
