Beware Of These Fake Applications

As smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives and the growth of these phones is phenomenal. But then the risks of applications also come with it, as hackers across the globe want our phones to be hacked because of the data. Though Google does not have any cyber police globally but on various occasions some bad eggs to get through. A batch of horrible apps got into the Google Play store. Sometimes in the past also two bad apps got through the back door and gained access and any data on the phones were stolen.

In a study ( https://news.sophas.com/en-w/2018/12/06) android-click fraud-fake -phone) by anti-virus provider Sophos, close to two dozen apps with more than 2 million downloads were discovered on the play store, containing a backdoor that allowed them to subtly download files from a hacker controlled-sever. The 22 apps included nondescript titles like Sparkle Flashlight, Zombie Killer, and Table Soccer, the first of those having over ! million downloads on its own since it appeared on the store in 2016. According to Sophos, it was only later in March this year that sparkle flashlight ( along with two other apps ) were updated to include the malicious back door code. The other 19 apps were introduced to the store with the background downloader at the start, sometimes after June this year.

The smartphones with Android phones were chosen over other applications because they are still selling like hotcakes and getting into them through backdoor entry is relatively easy. Google did eventually remove the apps, but only by November this year. Until then, attackers were using them to constantly serve up ads and frequently generate clicks on them to earn money. Once opened up, these adds would continue to run in the background even if force -closed by a user, draining both internet data and batteries.

DO NOT MISS

But that's just the immediate consequences of the apps. Because of these kinds of malware employ backdoor systems, they can also be used to force a smartphone to run a harmful code, stealing a person's data in a process. One of the app's developers with multiple backdoored apps-Sophos. .Worryingly, many of these malicious apps were from developers that also had entries in the ios App Store, meaning they could have similar apps for your iPhone as well.

While Google has taken down the offending apps from the stores, it's likely the phones that downloaded them are still infected. So, if you have downloaded any of these following apps, you need to act immediately. These 22 apps that are still a major cause of concern are as follows:-

1, Sparkle Flashlight 2. Snake Attack 3. Math Solver 4. sharpshooter 5. Take a trip 6. Magnifeye 7.Joinup 8.ZombieKiller 9.Space Rocket 10. NeonPong 11. Just Flashlight 12.Table Soccer 13. Cliff Diver 14.Box Stack 15 .Jelly slice 16 AK BlackJack 17.Colour Tiles 18.Animal Match 19. Roulette Mania 20. Hexa Fall 21. Hexa Blocks 22.Pair Zap

If you have any of these apps then delete them immediately as your smartphone will be saved.