ANDROID phone owners have been warned over “malicious” apps that may be lurking on your phone.
The apps – which are said to contain dangerous malware – have been downloaded by millions of users.
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These apps contain an attack known as Autolycos, which subscribes you to premium services.
This can slowly drain your bank account without you realising.
It was uncovered by French security research Maxime Ingrao, of Evina Tech, who said it’s been downloaded over 3million times.
The malware hides in seemingly safe apps with useful functions.
This includes camera apps, video editors and emoji keyboards.
But’s all part of a malware-spreading campaign designed to quietly extract cash from victims.
This particular attack only affects Android phone owners – iPhone users are unaffected.
That’s because the attack is distributed through the Google Play Store, where Android users download their apps.
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Here’s the list of offending apps and their download counts, according to Maxime:
- Vlog Star Video Editor – 1million+
- Creative 3D Launcher – 1million+
- Funny Camera – 500,000+
- Wow Beauty Camera – 100,000+
- Gif Emoji Keyboard – 100,000+
- Razer Keyboard & Theme – 50,000+
- Freeglow Camera 1.0.0 – 5,000+
- Coco camera v1.1 – 1,000+
If you have any of these apps downloaded, you should delete them immediately.
Even if the apps are removed from the Google Play Store, they could still be lurking on your device.
So check your list of installed apps to see if any of the names match up.
This attack is particularly nefarious because of the high number of installations.
Usually a large number of downloads is a good indicator that an app may be safe.
But you should be wary of any app you download, especially if it’s not extremely widely used.
Always make sure to check out who makes the app, as well as the app’s reviews.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
