It is indisputable that, for some time (and a long time) to this part, Google makes a more than considerable effort to prevent malware from making an appearance in the Google Play Store, the app store for Android. It is also true that much of his bad reputation is due to the laxity with which he faced this problem during his early years. At that time it used to be said that Google Play and the App Store were the opposite extremes, it was too difficult to enter the Apple store and too easy to enter the Google store.
Today this, in the Google part, has changed considerably and, given the concern they show about this problem, we can expect more movements in this regard in the future. In addition, another good habit acquired by Google for a long time is that of provide immediate response when apps that contain (or are directly) malware are detected. We have already seen on many occasions that, once identified, Google eliminates dangerous apps ipso facto.
The problem, of course, is the time that elapses between when these apps arrive in the store until they are identified as dangerous. A time that, if extended, can result in many users downloading and installing them on their devices, with the risks that this entails. Furthermore, there is no system (although it would be a great idea) that allows Google Play to notify users who have downloaded harmful apps of their dangerousness.
The latest example in this sense can be found today in 35 dangerous apps detected by Bitdefender, some of them with more than 100,000 downloads, and that in all cases they should be uninstalled by those users who have them on their devices. They are the following:
- Walls light – Wallpapers Pack
- Big Emoji – Keyboard
- Grad Wallpapers – 3D Backdrops
- Engine Wallpapers – Live & 3D
- Stock Wallpapers – 4K & HD
- EffectMania – Photo Editor
- Art Filter – Deep Photoeffect
- Fast Emoji Keyboard
- Create Sticker for Whatsapp
- Math Solver – Camera Helper
- Photopix Effects – Art Filter
- Led Theme – Colorful Keyboard
- Keyboard – Fun Emoji, Stickers
- Wi-Fi
- My GPS Location
- Image Warp Camera
- Art Girls Wallpaper HD
- Cat Simulator
- SmartQR Creator
- Colorize Old Photo
- GPS Location Finder
- Girls Art Wallpaper
- SmartQR Scanner
- GPS Location Maps
- volume control
- Secret Horoscope
- Smart GPS Location
- Animated Sticker Master
- Personality Charging Show
- Sleep Sounds
- QRCreator
- Media Volume Slider
- Secret Astrology
- Colorize Photos
- Phi 4K Wallpaper – Anime HD
The good news, yes, is that in this case the threat is not serious, at least for now, because its main function is to display as much advertising as possible. However, given their ability to undergo modifications once installed, it cannot be completely ruled out that they could evolve and take on more dangerous functions.
There is, yes, a problem, and that is that the cybersecurity company has detected that once installed, and to try to confuse the user and hide their presence, apps change name and icon after installation. Therefore, the best thing to do, especially if any of these names are familiar to you, is to review the apps installed on your device, and uninstall those that you cannot identify.
