New Adware Found In Google Play Apps With Millions Of Downloads



A new report from security firm Avast out this morning reveals the discovery of a new form of malware on the Google Play store, which begins to display advertisements disguised as warning messages to end users when they unlock their Android smartphones. What’s interesting about this malware – or adware, as it’s better known – is that some of the applications where it was discovered already have a large number of installs. For instance, a card game app called Durak has 5 to 10 million installs, according to the data on Google Play.

Explains Avast researcher Filip Chytry, the malware was first brought to the company’s attention by way of a comment on the Avast forums, and, initially, he didn’t think much of it.

However, when he examined it further, he realized that the apps where the malware was found actually have a fairly large target audience. The apps are available in English-speaking countries and in other language versions as well, and have been downloaded by millions of users, assuming Google Play’s own data on app installs is accurate.

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