Android virus hidden in official app store is downloaded 2 million times according to : Metro.co.uk

android users have been warned over a new strain of malware which was hidden inside 45 apps on Google 's Play store – and has infected two million devices. Check Point says that – as with many dodgy apps – the telltale sign is the permissions the app requests as it is installed. The malware uses the admin permission to avoid being deleted by the user, an action which normally suggests a malicious intention. Check Point says, 'FalseGuide requests an unusual permission on installation – device admin permission. But the FalseGuide malware could be used to control infected phones as a 'botnet' – using them to perform hack attacks against websites and networks.




The malware is called Falseguide and is hidden in apps found on Google Play, the online store where android users download new software. However, the virus could one day evolve and allow criminals to take full control of victim's phones and rifle through their private data. "The threat currently has very basic functionalities, but there is nothing stopping the threat from becoming more sophisticated in the future. Once victims download these apps, their phones are infected. The bots are used for various reasons based on the distributed computing capabilities of all the devices."

Millions of Android phone users accidentally downloaded virus

android phone owners have been warned that a strain of malware known as FalseGuide has been downloaded onto close to two million handsets. The malicious software had been hidden inside a number of apps on the Google Play store between 2016 and early 2017. The offending apps have now been removed from the Google Play store. Security experts warned that FalseGuide cannot be removed once a phone is infected - and those who have fallen victim to the malware have been bombarded with advertising. The apps appeared to be guides to other Android games, and were submitted under the names of fake developers 'Sergei Vernik' and 'Nikolai Zalupkin'.


collected by :Sandra Alex
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