Google removes 34 apps and websites with more than 120,000 downloads that were found to be infected with malware. Google is on a mission to clean up all the malware-infected apps from the play store to make the android safe for use.
The tech people have issued an advisory to immediately delete all these 34 known to be ‘dangerous’ applications.
Since 2020 February, Google has been on a mission to clean up the malware- apps on the play store to make the android’s use safe for its customers. The company has removed nearly 600 applications from its storefront, according to a press release.
In 2017, the software firm “Google” identified, Bread aka Joker carrying out a billing fraud of massive profit from a sale via using the SMS. Newly, the malware-infected several apps that Google had to pull-out from the store for the safety and security of its customers.
The malware-infected applications were cleaned or removed from the Play Store. And now over the last few months, it was detected that the threat is known to extend to and also use the android coding, which now modifies and subsequently bypassing to the play store’s security service.
It is also learned that according to a report by the security researchers at Israeli cybersecurity firm and Check Point Research came to know about those 34 apps that were infected with the malware did not only breach users’ privacy but also allow other harmful malware services to download to the device information posing a risk of cyber fraud and causing big internet frauds.
Joker is one of the most talked-about malware that recently got into Google’s applications marketplace with recognizable coding variations performed by hackers. While the applications have been taken down by Google but Google also advised every user, in a statement given by the authorities to manually uninstall those 34 applications if present in your device.
Hence, we could to remove them permanently from the market place.
Avoid detection by Google security clean up
The Security researcher explains that in the Check Point Research report they found out that the spiteful actor in Joker adopted an old technique from the conventional PC and modified ad used it in the mobile app such that he could avoid being detected by Google.
Also, note that the malware targets the premium subscription on the internet marketplace via the Notification Listener service available on Google.
Also note that originally, the code that was responsible for translation with the C&C and downloading their dex file was present inside the main classes.dex file, but now the functionality of the original classes.dex file includes loading the new payload mechanism of the action.
This malware has infected more than 11 apps and an additional 6 apps later in September.
Google removes these 34 Apps infected by malware:
- All Good PDF Scanner
- com.imagecompress.android
- com.relax.relaxation.android SMS
- com.file.recover files
- com.training.memorygame
- Push Message- Texting & SMS
- Fingertip GameBox
- com.contact.withme.texts
- com.cheery.message.send SMS (two different instances)
- com.LPlocker.lockapps
- Safety AppLock
- Emoji Wallpaper
- com.hmvoice.friends
- com.peason.lovinglovemessage
- com.remindme.alram
- Convenient Scanner 2
- Separate Doc Scanner
- Mint Leaf Message-Your Private Message
- Unique Keyboard – Fancy Fonts & Free Emoticons
- Tangram App Lock
- Direct Messenger
- Private SMS
- One Sentence Translator – Multifunctional Translator
- Style Photo Collage
- Meticulous Scanner
- Desire to Translate
- Talent Photo Editor – Blur focus
- Care Message
- Part Message
- Paper Doc Scanner
- Blue Scanner
- Hummingbird PDF Converter – Photo to PDF
- All Good PDF Scanner
Protect your phone or PC Google Play Protect
You can save and keep you pc or mobile secure by Google Play Protect service in the following steps:
- Google play runs a safety check on all the apps from the Google Play Store even before you download them.
- Google checks, what can be potentially harmful apps for your device from other sources. These harmful apps are termed as malware.
- Google play sends you warning about any potentially harmful apps detected and also removes all the known harmful apps from your device.
- Google play also sends warning to you about those detected apps that violate Google’s Unwanted Software Policy. These apps violets the policy by hiding or misrepresenting important information.
- Google also sends you privacy alerts.
To check your app security status through Google play
- Use your Android phone/tablet to open the Google Play Store app.
- Tap Menu, and then click on Play Protect.
- Now you can look for information and the status of your device.
How to turn on or off the Google Play Protect service?
NOTE: Google Play Protect service is switched ‘on’ by default, but in case you can want to turn it ‘off’. For security reasons, it is recommended that you keep Google Play Protect on.
The steps to turn on or off the Google play protect service are given below:
- Using your Android phone/tablet you can open the Google Play Store app.
- Tap the Menu button then click on Play Protect and click on the Settings tab.
- Now use, switch Scan apps with Play Protect on or off.
Unknown apps at Google
If you install apps from some random sources other than the Google Play Store.
You can send an unknown app to Google by turning on the “Improve harmful app detection” setting this will allow Google Play Protect to send unknown apps to Google to protect you and everyone else from harmful apps.
This can be achieved in the following steps:
- You can use your Android phone/tablet to open the Google Play Store app.
- Tap on Menu then select Play Protect than click on the Settings tab.
- Now, you can turn to improve harmful app detection on or off.
Thus Google removes 34 Apps from play stores and protect the devices from the malwares, which can even harm your data and device. Hope this article discussed the security clean up by google.
