Researchers at Wandera yesterday released a warning about 7 apps that were available on the Google Play Store which contain a special kind of trojan called dropper. The following are the 7 apps with a dropper that you should uninstall immediately:
- Magnifying Glass by PumpApp
- Super Bright LED Flashlight by PumpApp
- Magnifier, Magnifying Glass with Flashlight by LizotMitis
- Super-bright Flashlight by LizotMitis
- Alarm Clock by iSoft LLC
- Calculator by iSoft LLC
- Free Magnifying Glass by iSoftLLC
According to Wandera’s report, the above apps are downloading more apps with adware without user consent. The additional apps downloaded with those 7 apps are apps that have functionalities of calculators, flashlights and bass boosters. All of those additional apps are basically adware, so if something that you haven’t installed yourself appears on the app drawer, it means that you have downloaded one of the above 7 apps. So if you have downloaded those 7 apps, it’s best if you scrutinize your recent installations and remove the applications that could be the culprit.
Wandera’s report goes on to say that, the adware that is installed by the dropper apps waits for 10 minutes before it begins serving intrusive advertisements. The video ads aren’t even accepting any user interaction, so there’s no way to close them. To make things worse, the adware still tries to deliver ads even if the screen is turned off. This means that data consumption, battery consumption, and CPU usage continue to be a problem even when the device is left on standby.
Even though the apps are no longer on Google Playstore, you will still bear the brunt of the intrusive ads. so make sure that you have deleted or uninstalled the 7 apps as well as the additional apps that were downloaded without your consent.
As Wandera points out, the ads may be annoying, but the actor can very easily replace the adware with more dangerous malware that could even still your data. In other news, Google has partnered with ESET, Zimperium, and Lookout to help them detect and stop apps such as these 7 droppers from finding their way into the Play Store. The necessity for this was beyond doubt, and this story serves as an additional reason for Google to employ the services of other companies in detecting malicious apps.
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