The adware-infected apps were being used by fraudsters to monetize affected devices.
What you need to know
The security researchers at Trend Micro recently 85 adware-laden Android apps on the . According to the company, majority of the apps that were discovered were found to be disguised as photography and gaming apps and were downloaded over 8 million times.
Ecular Xu, mobile threat response engineer at Trend Micro, wrote in a blog post:
All the 85 adware-laden apps were removed from the Play Store soon after Trend Micro reported its findings to Google. Super Selfie, Cos Camera, Pop Camera, and One Stroke Line Puzzle were the most popular among the 85 apps that were discovered by Trend Micro as being adware-infected. All four apps were downloaded over a million times each. A list of all the 85 removed apps can be found .
The researchers found that the apps would hide their icon and create a shortcut on the phone's home screen roughly 30 minutes after being installed. This prevented the apps from being uninstalled by dragging and dropping the icon to the Uninstall section.
To evade detection, the adware apps use Java reflection, which allows the runtime behavior of an app to be inspected or modified. Once the app verifies the device has been unlocked, it starts displaying ads in full screen. Users are allowed to close the app only once they have viewed the whole duration of the ad. Fraudsters can also remotely configure how often the ads are displayed on affected devices.
What you need to know
- Google has removed 85 Android apps from the Play Store after security firm Trend Micro found them to be delivering adware.
- The adware-laden apps were masquerading as photography or gaming apps on the Play Store.
- Mobile ad fraud campaigns reportedly cost businesses financial losses of around $10 million in 2018.
The security researchers at Trend Micro recently 85 adware-laden Android apps on the . According to the company, majority of the apps that were discovered were found to be disguised as photography and gaming apps and were downloaded over 8 million times.
Ecular Xu, mobile threat response engineer at Trend Micro, wrote in a blog post:
All the 85 adware-laden apps were removed from the Play Store soon after Trend Micro reported its findings to Google. Super Selfie, Cos Camera, Pop Camera, and One Stroke Line Puzzle were the most popular among the 85 apps that were discovered by Trend Micro as being adware-infected. All four apps were downloaded over a million times each. A list of all the 85 removed apps can be found .
The researchers found that the apps would hide their icon and create a shortcut on the phone's home screen roughly 30 minutes after being installed. This prevented the apps from being uninstalled by dragging and dropping the icon to the Uninstall section.
To evade detection, the adware apps use Java reflection, which allows the runtime behavior of an app to be inspected or modified. Once the app verifies the device has been unlocked, it starts displaying ads in full screen. Users are allowed to close the app only once they have viewed the whole duration of the ad. Fraudsters can also remotely configure how often the ads are displayed on affected devices.