There’s no fooling around when it comes to apps engaged in illegal actions. You should delete them ASAP or remember their names so that you won’t install them from any corner of the internet. Google is famous for cleansing its Play Store of unwanted material pretty often, and the Mountain View-based company recently kicked out 17 apps.
The 17 apps were infected with the Joker malware, and they had a total download number of 120,000. The apps were all engaged into data theft. Security researchers from Zscaler were the ones making the discovery, and they offered a reliable explanation for what the apps were capable of:
This spyware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information, along with silently signing up the victim for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services,
The 17 pesky apps are the following:
- Hummingbird PDF Converter – Photo to PDF
- All Good PDF Scanner
- Unique Keyboard – Fancy Fonts & Free Emoticons
- Tangram App Lock
- Direct Messenger
- All Good PDF Scanner
- Mint Leaf Message-Your Private Message
- Care Message
- Part Message
- Paper Doc Scanner
- Blue Scanner
- Private SMS
- One Sentence Translator – Multifunctional Translator
- Style Photo Collage
- Meticulous Scanner
- Desire Translate
- Talent Photo Editor – Blur focus
This is not the only time when the Joker malware likes to mess around with apps from Google’s Play Store. The recent crackdown of the 17 apps marks the third such kind of measure taken by Google against the Joker malware. The giant from Mountain View also removed six apps at the start of the current month after security researchers from Pradeo raised the alarm.
With a total of 2.8 million apps (including games), Google’s Play Store remains a highly-trusted marketplace. There’s no denying that most of the apps from the store are useful enough, but caution is always a good thing.
