75 Android apps on Google Play and over 10 apps in the Apple App Store brought unwanted advertising to the smartphone. The nasty apps have been installed over 13 million times. How to react correctly.
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Android & iOS: Apps infected with adware – over 13 million downloads
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Security researchers have once again discovered infected apps on Google Play, but also in the Apple App Store. In total, there are said to be over 75 Android apps that were offered for installation on Google Play. More than ten more apps were available for download in the Apple App Store. These not-recommended apps have already been installed more than 13 million times.
In this case, no malware should be hidden in the apps, but “only” adware. But unwanted and annoying advertisements as well as advertising fraud have no place on the smartphone. And that’s exactly what the apps infected with adware cause, as reported by the US IT security site Bleepingcomputer. The security researchers from “HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence” gave the associated campaign the name “Scylla” (named after the mythological sea monster from the Odyssey). After 2019 and 2020, this is already the third wave of such apps with fraudulent advertising. The security researchers informed Google and Apple and both companies have already removed the apps from their app stores.
You must do that
On Android apps, Android should now be able to detect and remove these apps thanks to the Google Play Protect feature. Apparently, on iOS devices, owners have to search for the apps infected with unwanted ads themselves and remove them manually.
You can find the full, long list of infected apps further down the page. Search the apps installed on your smartphone to see if you have one or more of these apps installed and remove them. The list also includes the apps from the previous two scam campaigns.
Similar cases in the past, however, were not scams with unwanted advertising, but real malware that was smuggled onto Android smartphones. iOS devices were not affected at the time:
Malware in Google Play Store again – delete these Android apps immediately
You Should Delete These Android Apps Immediately – Malware in Play Store
You should delete these dangerous Android apps immediately
