Google apps report adware, even though Google does an admirable job of keeping its sprawling Play Store free of apps containing malware. Their verification system is world-class.
That said, no system is perfect, and that includes Google’s. In recent months, the company has removed nearly a hundred malware apps that made it through their various gateways and checkpoints while containing all manner of malware.
Google removed the malware apps at that time; unfortunately, it has happened again.
Czech antivirus company Avast recently reported that it found adware on 21 different apps on the Play Store. Google removed most of the offending malware apps down the latter part of 2020, but six remain available to unsuspecting users.
The names of the offending malware apps are:
- Shoot Them
- Crush Car
- Rolling Scroll
- Helicopter Attack
- Assassin Legend
- Helicopter Shoot
- Rugby Pass
- Flying Skateboard
- Iron It
- Shooting Run
- Plant Monster
- Find Hidden
- Find 5 Differences
- Rotate Shape
- Jump Jump
- Find the Difference – Puzzle Game
- Sway Man
- Money Destroyer
- Desert Against
- Cream Trip
- Props Rescue
As you can tell by the titles, these are games aimed primarily at children. Kids generally aren’t savvy enough to do even the most basic investigation to see whether an app is legit or if it might be doing something nefarious behind the scenes and is malware. The truth is, many adults aren’t tech-savvy enough to do that either, which is how these apps can infect so many devices.
Check phones and other devices to ensure none of the malware listed above is currently in use. If so, then there’s also a piece of malware called “HiddenAds,” which will display annoying amounts of unwanted advertising on the device in question until you find the app and remove it.
Kudos to Google for moving swiftly in taking down most of the offending malware apps, and by the time you read this piece, the odds are excellent that the remaining six offenders will be gone as well.
