Warning! These malicious Google Play Store apps can steal you blind; check list of apps with Trojan virus

Here is a warning for hundreds of millions of Android phone users! Android users are being alerted about a list of apps found on Google Play Store that contain viruses. According to a report by Dr Web titled "Doctor Web’s June 2022 review of virus activity on mobile devices" malicious apps remained among the most widespread Android threats. As per the information, malware analysts have discovered dozens of malicious apps on Google Play Store. Among them were adware trojans, fake apps used by scammers, info-stealers targeting confidential data, and others.

"In June, the activity of the Android.Spy.4498 trojan, which steals information from other apps’ notifications, continued to decrease; it was detected on Android devices 20.56% less often than in May. The activity of Android.HiddenAds adware trojans also decreased, but less noticeably, by 8%. With that, these malicious apps remain among the most widespread Android threats. Over the month, Doctor Web’s malware analysts discovered dozens of malicious apps on Google Play. Among them were adware trojans, fake apps used by scammers, info-stealers targeting confidential data, and others," the report said.

Shockingly, as per the report more than 98,90,000 downloads have been reported from almost 30 adware trojans from the Android.hiddenAds family. The list of applications include image-editing software, virtual keyboards, system tools and utilities, calling apps, wallpaper collection apps, and others.

In order to display ads, some of the apps request permission to show windows over other apps, while the rest ask users to add them to the exclusion list of the battery saving feature. Further, making it more difficult for you to detect the malicious apps, the trojans hide their icons from the list of installed apps in the home screen menu or they replace the icons with less noticeable ones, the report informed.

The list of the apps containing trojans include: Photo Editor: Beauty Filter; Photo Editor: Retouch & Cutout; Photo Editor: Art Filters; Photo Editor - Design Maker; Photo Editor & Background Eraser; Photo & Exif Editor; Photo Editor - Filters Effects; Photo Filters & Effects; Photo Editor : Blur Image; Photo Editor : Cut, Paste; Emoji Keyboard: Stickers & GIF; Neon Theme Keyboard; Cashe Cleaner; FastCleaner: Cashe Cleaner; Funny Wallpapers - Live Screen; Notes - reminders and lists; among others.

Moreover, Dr Web's specialists discovered yet other trojans from the Android.Joker family which are capable of downloading and executing arbitrary code and subscribing victims to paid mobile services without their knowledge. "One of them was hidden in third-party launcher “Poco Launcher”, while another was in the “4K Pro Camera” app. A third was in the ‘Heart Emoji Stickers” stickers collection app," the report said.

It further informed that upon launching, they asked the user to log in to their accounts and then loaded a genuine Facebook authorization page. Next, they hijacked the authentication data and sent it to malicious actors.

Android users who have installed any of the above mentioned apps in their phone are advised to delete them as early as possible in order to stay protected. Also change the passwords of your social media account post uninstalling the app.