These Android Apps with a Million Play Store Installations Redirect Users to Malicious Sites

A set of four Android apps introduced by the exact developer has been uncovered directing victims to malicious web-sites as aspect of an adware and information-thieving campaign.

The apps, revealed by a developer named Cell apps Team and currently available on the Enjoy Store, have been collectively downloaded about one million periods.

In accordance to Malwarebytes, the web-sites are built to generate revenues as a result of pay back-per-click ads, and even worse, prompt users to put in cleaner applications on their phones with the target of deploying additional malware.

✔ Approved Seller From Our Partners

Protect your privacy by Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN is one of the famous brands in the security and privacy world. With Mullvad VPN you will not even be asked for your email address. No log policy, no data from you will be saved. Get your license key now from the official distributor of Mullvad with discount: SerialCart® (Limited Offer).

➤ Get Mullvad VPN with 12% Discount

The checklist of apps is as follows –

• Bluetooth App Sender (com.bluetooth.share.app) – 50,000+ downloads
• Bluetooth Automobile Connect (com.bluetooth.autoconnect.anybtdevices) – 1,000,000+ downloads
• Driver: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB (com.driver.finder.bluetooth.wifi.usb) – 10,000+ downloads
• Mobile transfer: smart switch (com.mobile.speedier.transfer.intelligent.switch) – 1,000+ downloads

It is really no surprise that destructive apps have devised new strategies to get earlier Google Enjoy Store security protections. A person of the far more common methods adopted by danger actors is to introduce time-primarily based delays to conceal their destructive behavior.

Malwarebytes’ examination identified the applications to have an approximately four-day waiting period just before opening the initially phishing web site in Chrome browser, and then continue to start a lot more tabs every two hours.

The apps are aspect of a broader malware procedure termed HiddenAds, which has been lively because at least June 2019 and has a observe file of illicitly earning revenues by redirecting people to adverts.

The results also come as researchers from Guardio Labs disclosed aspects of a malvertising campaign dubbed Dormant Hues that leverages rogue Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge extensions to hijack consumer lookup queries to an actor-controlled area.

Uncovered this post appealing? Comply with THN on Fb, Twitter  and LinkedIn to read extra exclusive information we post.