New Delhi
Google Play Store has recently removed 331 dangerous apps from its platforms, which were involved in stealing personal information of users and showing fake advertisements. These apps had been downloaded more than 60 million (6 crore) so far.
IAS Threat Lab and BitDefender Report
Cyber security firm IAS Threat Lab revealed the “Vapor” operation in early 2024, with more than 200 million fake advertising requests through 180 apps. Later, Bitdefender reported the number of these apps to 331 and warned that these apps were forced to share sensitive information to users through fishing attacks, such as login credentials and credit card details.
How were these dangerous apps working?
These malicious apps had many dangerous features:
Hiding yourself in settings: Some apps changed their name and icon to show themselves as reliable apps like Google Voice.
To do secretly work in the background: Without the permission of the user, these apps started automatically in the background and recently disappeared from the list of open apps.
Full-screen advertising and fake login page: Some apps showed full-screen AIDS and demanded passwords and credit card details from users by creating fake login pages of popular sites like Facebook, YouTube.
Google removes all suspicious apps
Taking this danger seriously, Google has removed all 331 dangerous apps from the Play Store. Speaking to Bleeping Computer, a Google spokesperson confirmed that “all the apps identified in this report have been removed.”
Which apps were in danger?
According to Bitdefender’s report, these dangerous apps were listed on Play Store as general useful apps, such as:
Aquatracker
Clicksave downloader
Scan hawk
Water time tracker
Be more
Translatescan
Each of these apps had more than 1 million downloads.
How to avoid such dangerous apps?
Check the credibility of the developer before downloading any app.
After installing the app, avoid giving permissions unnecessary permissions.
If an app behaves suspicious, then uninstall it immediately.
Read the review of Play Store and user comments carefully.
Use antivirus software in your phone.
There have been repeated questions about security on Google Play Store, and it is clear from this incident that cyber criminals are trying to cheat users by adopting new methods. Therefore, being vigilant and being aware is the greatest defense.
