Bad Android battery life? You may have been the victim of ‘clickfraud’! Criminal apps on Google Play that drain your phone have been downloaded 2million times
- 22 ‘clickfraud’ apps could drain your battery life and add to your phone bill
- Experts at security firm Sophos say that they pretend to be normal apps
- A flashlight app has racked up one million downloads before being taken down
- The apps make you click on them to harm your device by allowing pop-up ads
Android users are being warned to delete apps that drain smartphones’ batteries and even land them with a hefty bill.
‘Clickfraud’ apps pretend to be normal programs like games made by mobile app developers to trick users into downloading pop-up ads and even malware.
Security researchers found 22 such apps hosted by the Google Play Store, which have been downloaded collectively two million times.
Scroll down for video
‘Clickfraud’ apps are made by unscrupulous mobile app developers to trick users into downloading malware and pop-ups. In some cases the ads will pretend that you’re clicking from an Apple device, in the hopes of creating more revenue for themselves
In some cases the ads will pretend that you’re clicking from an Apple device, in the hopes of creating more revenue for themselves.
The ads don’t appear to the user but appear in a hidden browser window instead, not annoying the user.
The malware then imitates a user interacting with the ad, tricking it into thinking the communication was legitimate and meaning that the developers make more money.
Experts at security software company Sophos found that most of these were going unnoticed by users for months or even years.
-
Is Apple launching a Spotify for magazines? Texture app ‘to…
World’s first laboratory-grown STEAK tastes 70% like real…
Brits admit to being ‘clueless’ about the EU’s crucial GDPR…
Forget horsepower, Stonehenge was built with COW-power:… -
Virgin Galactic could send its tourist rocket to space THIS…
Share this article
The Android apps were posing as Apple devices to advertisers, possibly in order to earn a premium return on their criminal activity
All of the offending apps have been deleted from the store after Google Play were notified. They can no longer be downloaded from the store.
Many of the apps had barely any negative reviews, because users don’t know anything is wrong.
Three of the apps dated back at least a year, and one of them – a flashlight app – had been downloaded at least a million times.
Many of the apps had barely any negative reviews, because users don’t know anything is wrong and therefore more will download them. The majority of these apps were created after June this year, some didn’t start out as malicious but have since been trojanised
The flashlight app, left, had been downloaded at least a million times. Signs that malicious apps are on your phone would be increased data usage and fast-draining battery life
The majority of these apps were created after June this year, the three oldest of which did not start out as malicious, but were since trojanised with the clickfraud code.
Sophos said that these apps ad-clicker malware showed significant improvement and remained persistent, more flexible, and thus more deceptive to users.
Malware can range from software designed to cause damage to a device, steal information, show ads to generate revenue or various other nefarious purposes.
They can push people to subscribe to paid services which promise, for example, security software but deliver nothing of real value.
The Android apps were posing as Apple devices to advertisers, possibly in order to earn a premium return on their criminal activity All of the offending apps have been deleted from the store after Google Play were notified. They can no longer be downloaded from the store
The researchers explained: ‘From the user’s perspective, these apps drain their phone’s battery and may cause data overages as the apps are constantly running and communicating with servers in the background.’
Signs that malicious apps are on your phone would be increased data usage and fast-draining battery life.
WHAT ARE THE APPS THAT DRAIN YOUR BATTERY?
Sparkle FlashLight – com.sparkle.flashlight
Snake Attack – com.mobilebt.snakefight
Math Solver – com.mobilebt.mathsolver
ShapeSorter – com.mobilebt.shapesorter
Tak A Trip – com.takatrip.android
Magnifeye – com.magnifeye.android
Join Up – com.pesrepi.joinup
Zombie Killer – com.pesrepi.zombiekiller
Space Rocket – com.pesrepi.spacerocket
Neon Pong – com.pesrepi.neonpong
Just Flashlight – app.mobile.justflashlight
Table Soccer – com.mobile.tablesoccer
Cliff Diver – com.mobile.cliffdiver
Box Stack – com.mobile.boxstack
Jelly Slice – net.kanmobi.jellyslice
AK Blackjack – com.maragona.akblackjack
Color Tiles – com.maragona.colortiles
Animal Match – com.beacon.animalmatch
Roulette Mania – com.beacon.roulettemania
HexaFall – com.atry.hexafall
HexaBlocks – com.atry.hexablocks
PairZap – com.atry.pairzap
Source: Read Full Article