85 Adware Apps Removed From Google Play Store Reminding Us To Use Caution When Downloading Apps
By: Jim Stickley and Tina Davis
January 20, 2020
Google once again removed malicious apps from their Play Store. The move comes after nearly 8 million smartphone users unknowingly downloaded 85 infected apps only to find their Android devices loaded with adware. The adware-laden apps involved photography utilities and games that once downloaded, overtook mobile devices with full screen, relentless advertising. Like many other apps Google Play Store removed in the past, they posed as legitimate software only to reveal they were anything but. DoubleVerify estimates 57% of malware apps fall into the “Games” or “Tools and Utilities” categories.
This instance is yet another wave of infected apps continuing to infiltrate both Google Play and Apple App Store. Google removed the guilty apps. Unsuspecting downloaders found their unlocked smartphones blaring non-stop, full page ads. Those behind the adware controlled the ads remotely, allowing them to run up to five minutes at a time. However, the “nuisance” cost to users is compounded by the actual dollar and cents cost of adware. With businesses spending a projected $87 billion on mobile advertising in 2019, fraudulent ads cost an estimated $2.3 billion loss in the first six months of this year.
Despite efforts to find infected apps, they continue to pop up in official app stores. Users can navigate more safely with a little effort and some common sense. The first step is downloading apps exclusively from official app stores. Both Google Play Store and Apple App Store do their best to ferret out infected apps before putting them up for sale. Going to unofficial locations, called “sideloading, is risky from the start.
These stores less strictly vet apps before making them available to the public, greatly increasing the odds of sideloading an infected app. Reading app reviews also goes a long way toward safety. Users post their experiences with apps both good and bad. It can be a huge heads-up for questionable and infected apps before they’re downloaded yet again. Adware and other malware apps are out there waiting to be downloaded, and using cyber-smarts is a great way to navigate safely around them.