Do you ever find yourself randomly flicking through dozens of Play Store pages, sections, and categories in search for useful or just fun new apps and games to install on your Android device? If yes, you might want to occasionally take a little time to clean your phone of potentially malicious and invasive content as well.
While the Android malware situation is obviously nothing new, it's starting to seem harder and harder to steer clear of all the dangers lurking in the shadows of Google Play, not to mention third-party app stores and other unauthorized methods of downloading mobile stuff.
The latest threat
For the umpteenth time in recent months, a group of security researchers has discovered and rigorously documented a nefarious Play Store operation that you should do everything in your power to stay away from. For its part, Google has booted all 19 apps found guilty of rampant and fraudulent ad-inserting behavior after being made aware of their shenanigans, but it's equally as important (if not more important) that you do the same ASAP.
After all, Google Play can't protect you from this type of heinous conduct once you've downloaded a malicious app (or, as it turns out, before installing these titles), so you'll have to manually locate and delete each and every dangerous app from your own phone. With more than 3.5 million downloads between them, odds are unfortunately that some of you have indeed fallen victim to the predatory tactics detailed in the latest White Ops report.
The worst thing about this particular set of mischievous Android apps is that they're programmed to trick their users into believing they don't work or can't be installed properly, removing their own launch icons shortly after being downloaded to make the uninstall process unnecessarily difficult.
But while their advertised functionality is often limited or outright nonexistent, the clandestine goals are clear, simple, and annoyingly effective - bombarding users with ads, as well as diverting web traffic to shady portals. That doesn't sound very pleasant... or secure, although in fairness, the report doesn't mention anything about this malware attacking the integrity of your personal information or financial data.
The list (and the best ways to avoid future infections)
Still, you should absolutely check both your phone's home screen and the full list of apps currently installed on your device from the settings menu for any of these titles:
Auto Picture Cut
Color Call Flash
Square Photo Blur
Square Blur Photo
Magic Call Flash
Easy Blur
Image Blur
Auto Photo Blur
Photo Blur
Photo Blur Master
Super Call Screen
Square Blur Master
Square Blur
Smart Blur Photo
Smart Photo Blur
Super Call Flash
Smart Call Flash
Blur Photo Editor
Blur Image
As you can notice, there's a common theme in the names and description of these apps, all of which were disguised as photo editors allowing you to blur different sections of images captured with your phone's cameras.
Play Store reviews for the now-deleted Square Photo Blur app
In addition to deleting any and all of the above as soon as possible, you'll want to pay extra attention next time you download anything developed by sketchy companies or "people" named Thomas Mary, Kirk Brian, or Davis Betty.
Random developer names like that should be your first red flag, often proving fake, while the number of 1-star reviews given to an app can be a dead giveaway of its true nature, even when accompanied by an equal or higher number of 5-star ratings. The latter group is most of the time fake too, and especially if many of the 1-star reviews mention things like limited functionality, random and aggressive ads, and a tricky uninstall process, you should perhaps try to find a more reliable alternative.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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