The return of the harmful Joker program to the Play Store! After several months of absence, the malware was spotted in code 6 apparently harmless apps. Without a goal? Emptying the bank account of its victims by subscribing to paid services on the Internet.
In September 2019, a dangerous malware called Joker appeared noticeably on the Play Store. Hidden in twenty store apps, the Trojan horse sought to subscribe to paid services without their knowledge. Google has acted quickly by expelling infected apps from the Play Store. The rebellious, the Joker returns a few weeks later to deceive new victims. Despite Google's efforts, the virus has returned time and time again to attack Android users before disappearing from the speed cameras.
List of 6 apps infected with the Joker malware on the Play Store
Recently, the Joker malware was spotted in the code of 6 Android apps available on the Play Store by Roxane Suau, Pradeo's computer security researcher. In total, these infected apps have been downloaded more than 200,000 times.
"The Joker's core business continues to falsify clicks and block confirmation texts that users may participate in unsolicited paid paid services," said Roxanne Sowo. So the pirates behind the Joker haven't changed their style of work since last year. Here is a list of apps that you must urgently uninstall from your phone:
- Safe app lock
- Convenient scanner 2
- Push text messages and SMS
- Emoji wallpapers
- Separate document scanner
- GameBox finger tip
After an alert from Pradeo, Google quickly removed 6 infected apps from the Play Store. However, apps "are always installed on their users' devices," Roxanne Sowo regrets.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, we invite you to not download any application available on the Google Store. Before installing the app, always read reviews and reviews. For security reasons, we also recommend that you install a good antivirus program on your Android smartphone. Are any of the above apps installed? We await your testimony in the comments.