[Be aware] Android users

[maxreish]

I'm an Android user for quite some time  now. And mini camera is one of my favorite app that I have been downloaded. Not until I have found out that there are some apps in the google that are affected by so called Joker Malware. It is some kind of Malware that can access your personal info like bank statements, etc through your mobile phone.

According to this site, Here are some of the list of the apps that are affected by the Malware:

Advocate Wallpaper
Age Face
Altar Message
Antivirus Security – Security Scan
Beach Camera
Board picture editing
Certain Wallpaper
Climate SMS
Collate Face Scanner
Cute Camera
Dazzle Wallpaper
Declare Message
Display Camera
Great VPN
Humour Camera
Ignite Clean
Leaf Face Scanner
Mini Camera
Print Plant scan
Rapid Face Scanner
Reward Clean
Ruddy SMS
Soby Camera
Spark Wallpaper

Google already deleted this apps. You may recheck the list above if you have downloaded one of them and unstall it immediately.

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[Bountyhonter]

Thanks for the info, Playstore's security isn't very tight anyone on the internet can upload an app to playstore but playstore usually remove apps whenever they find out that it has any sort of malware.

It's always advisable to turn on playprotect, it might not be able to detect all malwares but it's safer turning it on.

[o_e_l_e_o]

It never ceases to amaze me the absolute trash that people will willingly download on to the same device they use for their emails, online banking, or even crypto wallets. "Dazzle Wallpaper"? "Cute Camera"? I mean, seriously? You are compromising the security of the device which you use to log in to accounts containing significant proportions of your money or assets so it can have a shiny background or take better selfies? This is made worse by the fact next to nobody reviews the code of what they are downloading, or even reviews the permissions that the app is asking for. Things like flashlight apps which want access to your location and storage, or wallpaper apps accessing your camera and microphone. Why? And yet people still download these apps. This isn't unique to apps and mobile devices. People download tons of useless software and browser add ons, and pay no attention to what they actually do.

Honestly, if you care more about your phone or browser having a sparkly wallpaper than you do about your own security, then I don't know what anyone can do to help you.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Honestly, if you care more about your phone or browser having a sparkly wallpaper than you do about your own security, then I don't know what anyone can do to help you.

They are just downloading those apps out of Ignorance fueled by the peer/society pressure of fitting in with the crowd. Take the face App as an example. I mean, what's the use of an app that'll only make you look older. The app just took the internet by storm then more and more users fell for the pressure of participating with what's trending. Selfies of present day images and that of when they get older became the trend of the day. Most users (mostly teenagers) wanted to join the trend, resulting to them downloading the app, which is why I say ignorance is the reason for most individuals falling victim to the easily avoidable tricks.

I'm the type that hate unproductive applications on my smartphone, they have to try better than this if they want to have any short at stealing my private details lol. Thanks for the awareness OP.

[mk4]

It never ceases to amaze me the absolute trash that people will willingly download on to the same device they use for their emails, online banking, or even crypto wallets.

Boy, don't underestimate how security blind or careless in general people are. If people still save their passwords on emails and on their notes app, there will always be people that will download unnecessarily dumb stuff like this. I even have friends in the computer science field that loves to download cracked premium apps(.apks) on random websites on the web. This is one of the reasons why while I personally use a phone running Android, I actually mostly recommend iPhones to people, one big reason being how Apple is a lot more strict on the apps entering the App Store. Google needs to step their game up.

[hatshepsut93]

It never ceases to amaze me the absolute trash that people will willingly download on to the same device they use for their emails, online banking, or even crypto wallets. "Dazzle Wallpaper"? "Cute Camera"? I mean, seriously? You are compromising the security of the device which you use to log in to accounts containing significant proportions of your money or assets so it can have a shiny background or take better selfies?

Average joes know nothing about security, it simply doesn't cross their mind that they put their device at risk when they download some crap. They don't read any forums or blogs that cover cybersecurity, that's "nerd topic" for them. Maybe losing money to a malware will serve as a wake up call to some, but if the sum is not too big, they'll probably just shrug and carry on doing what they did before. And with modern banking system where large transaction require additional checks, they aren't likely to lose any big money. It's Bitcoin users who are in most danger.

[mk4]

Was about replying with the same sentence as google playstore is a joke when it come to security but I blame us, the customers for trusting them to keep our mobile save when their parents company is guilty of selling or exposing our privacy for their benefits. Phishing and malware (mostly Crypto related) APPs can easily find their way into Google playstore for android users to download without getting notice, sometimes they stay days/months without getting notice and cause huge demage before they're expose.  Some of those APPs are still active on the playstore, a quick search and you'll see all kind of different bitcoin related APPs asking for permission to sensitive information. When it comes to security google is far behind.

While it's mostly the user's faults for trusting everything on the Google PlayStore, the only right way to address this is for Google to be more strict though. We really can't expect everyone to be privacy and security conscious and research everything before they install a certain app. Also, reporting the apps definitely helps a lot, especially if scammy apps gain enough publicity on Reddit and on the forums, but again, Google should be the one making the move not the people. Unless they expect people to charitably hunt for scammy apps for them lol.

[The Cryptovator]

Thanks for sharing your experience and affected apps. Thise who we are using crypto-currency, we should be more careful when we are going to install any new apps. Because anytime malware could attack on our devices and they might steal even our funds. So we should check reviews about apps and search more. Especially when we are going use any unknown sources for download. Apps might remain online even Google deleted them. Google couldn't prevent if you download from other sources.

[ezeobulu007]

I appreciate that you shared your experience here, i am also an android user and i will try to be careful henceforth

[samputin]

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Average joes know nothing about security, it simply doesn't cross their mind that they put their device at risk when they download some crap. They don't read any forums or blogs that cover cybersecurity, that's "nerd topic" for them.

Most probably, for them, those things about cybersecurity are the boring stuffs and they find more fun in downloading useless apps on their smartphones. And with that, they just ignore or doesn't care enough about their security. Maybe losing money they care about will serve as an eye opener for them. But why do they have to wait for something wrong to happen before they realize that their security is a top priority? 

[UserU]

Phew, luckily I can't be bothered much to install those fancy apps since battery is the main concern.

But once I had a (now) deleted app, a screen recorder which had additional permissions. And was surprised why it couldn't be located on the Play Store anymore.

[YOSHIE]

According to this site, Here are some of the list of the apps that are affected by the Malware:

Danger, if the Microsoft Launcher Application (Beta) is affected by Malware, most people download this one application, including me.

Wow, this can be chaotic:


I have to take immediate action to exit the Microsoft Launcher Application (Beta), luckily everything is under control.
Thank you, friend, for the information.

[hugeblack]

Unfortunately, many rely on the behavior of the collective mind, so that the more people download the application the more trust in that application, especially if someone has downloaded or appeared as the first result in Google search.
Thus, a little bit of spending on advertising will get more downloads.

Do not forget that some of the famous apps need some of the features provided by unknown developers "hackers" for free "people do not focus on the developer."

[Lucius]

I think what is stated in OP is just a very small percentage of apps that have malware, since Google is not have mechanisms to check every application in Play Store, it all depends on reports from users and independent researchers. It is a classic game of cat and mouse that never ends, at least until the rules of the game change. However, it is unrealistic to expect that Google can change its business practices for that matter, profit comes first, then everything else.

I must admit that I have never heard of any of these applications, and I'm pretty cautious about downloding anything from Play Store. But my smartphone has the same treatment as my personal computer, and that include antivirus and regular Android security updates.

Still security of Android based phones / tablets is depends on how old is your phone / what version of Android is using. In other words, old versions of Android are quite vulnerable, and if you use such old smartphone for security sensitive stuff (crypto or banking), seriously consider purchasing a new device with latest OS.

[Alone055]

It is some kind of Malware that can access your personal info like bank statements, etc through your mobile phone.

To be precise, it doesn't really access your bank statements, but it accesses your credentials to your money related apps within the phone and automatically subscribes to services (that are their own, of course) that cost money, and that is how they benefit from it. The article from the site you've mentioned said that people should check their bank statements for any unauthorized subscriptions or any unusual activities and take care of them as their privacy might have been compromised.

Beside that, I totally agree with everyone in here about downloading and using unnecessary apps like the ones mentioned in here. I have never even heard of any of them, nor I touch any kind of app that has even the smallest percentage of being on the evil side. People should really be more careful about their privacy these days when injecting a malware inside a phone is not such a big deal anymore.

[BIN-BIN]

Thanks for this info I recently downloaded the mini camera app but never used it before reading this post great and I hope other community members will take advantage of this information in other to protect they personal file from malware.

[Velkro]

According to this site, Here are some of the list of the apps that are affected by the Malware:

Can't see any REALLY popular app here. Thanks to that not that many affected users probably.
Everyone should be aware that android apps from official play store can be harmful to you and your Bitcoins.

[Toplistico.com]

this is one of the things I don't like about Playstore and Android, their control over application products that are there is not strict.  they are like only thinking about profit regardless of the user's safety.  Applestore and Iphone is far better than Playstore, to be able to enter Applestore, application developers must be absolutely free from viruses, bugs, and malware that will threaten users.  I have been an iPhone user for a number of years and until now I have not found a case related to security problems on the Iphone.

[o_e_l_e_o]

this is one of the things I don't like about Playstore and Android, their control over application products that are there is not strict.  they are like only thinking about profit regardless of the user's safety.

Users shouldn't be relying on Google to vet and approve apps on their behalf. Your browser won't stop you from downloading malware, and your OS won't stop you from running it. Why are people trusting that Google would do these things for them? People need to start taking a little bit of responsibility for their own security.

Google's primary aim is, and has always been, to make more money. They don't care about their users beyond retaining them. If you are worried about this malware being able to access your personal information, you should be more worried by Google tracking and recording everything you do online, everywhere you go, all your communication, and so forth.

Stop trusting Google. You are not their customer. You are their product.

[nakamura12]

Google doesn't mind much of what android apps that they will include in their app store. People shouldn't download apps from google playstore if you are not sure about the app itself. I also use android phone but I don't like to download apps that i'm not sure and even the apps you have downloaded that doesn't have malware could also slow your phone down. Don't trust google playstore's app. Thanks for the info by the way.