Published 23:30 IST, February 11th 2020
Fake Android apps that should be DELETED before they hack your device
Fake Android apps are something that Google has reportedly tried to deal with for a long time. These nine risky apps have been downloaded over 4,70,000 times.
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In an iOS versus Android debate, Apple fans could cite the open-source nature of the Android software as their reason to stay away from the operating system. Open source basically means ‘free’ and ‘open to modification’. The open-source nature of Android is the reason it has become the biggest mobile operating system in the world. But this accessibility has also left the OS vulnerable to attacks by the ill-intentioned programmer. Fake Android apps are on the rise and users need to be aware of this malicious software.
Fake Android Apps: TrendMicro reveals scary details about Fake Android Apps
Japanese security firm TrendMicro recently reported on their blog that as many as nine software on the Android Play Store pretend to be applications that they are actually not. These applications are automatically installed usually under the garb of “device speed booster” and “device cleaners”. The problematic area that these applications then tread into is that they run scripts in the background which can abuse a user’s data without their knowledge. These applications may install and pretend to be “system software” to stay away from the user’s sight. The report also states that these risky apps have been downloaded well above 470,000 times from Google Play. These apps may usually be called something like "Speed clean" and "Super clean".
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Fake Android Apps: Nine apps that you should uninstall immediately
These are the apps that should be uninstalled, according to multiple reports. If these apps do not appear on your app screen, you can uninstall them from the settings page by deleting their packages that are mentioned inside the parenthesis.
- Shoot Clean-Junk Cleaner,Phone Booster,CPU Cooler (com.boost.cpu.shootcleaner)
- Super Clean Lite- Booster, Clean&CPU Cooler (com.boost.superclean.cpucool.lite)
- Super Clean-Phone Booster,Junk Cleaner&CPU Cooler (com.booster.supercleaner)
- Quick Games-H5 Game Center (com.h5games.center.quickgames)
- Rocket Cleaner (com.party.rocketcleaner)
- Rocket Cleaner Lite (com.party.rocketcleaner.lite)
- Speed Clean-Phone Booster,Junk Cleaner&App Manager (com.party.speedclean)
- LinkWorldVPN (com.linkworld.fast.free.vpn)
- H5 gamebox (com.games.h5gamebox)
Fake Android Apps: Why are these apps risky for Android security?
After installation, these apps run multiple scripts in the background which can perform actions that a user might not be aware of. Such actions can include faking app reviews on the Play Store. The apps use resources and make other malicious installations on the device, all of it – away from the user’s eye.
This may lead to the user believing that the apps did not install but these apps secretly run in the background and continue with their malicious activity. These acts can even include accessing a user’s Google account or commit Facebook hacking to partake in ad fraud or make distasteful comments on social media posts. Since the users are prompted to give the app permissions to the device’s root, the user cannot control an app’s background activity.
23:30 IST, February 11th 2020