Android users advised to remove 17 Google Play Store apps. Check if you have any of these

Google has pulled down the six additional applications from the Play Store. Hence there will be no new downloads. However, users who have already downloaded the applications will need to delete them from their smartphones. A cybersecurity firm Pradeo report claimed that these six apps had already almost 200,000 downloads before they were pulled off the app store.

These applications seemed to be legitimate but had the ability to sneak files into the users device by downloading malware. This malware then subscribed the user to premium service without their consent.

In the month of July, the discovery of a new variant of the Joker malware in Google Play was made by Check Point researchers. The researchers were able to spot 11 such apps with these suspicious packages. Here is the revised list of packages that were found to contain the Joker malware:

com.imagecompress.android

com.relax.relaxation.androidsms

com.file.recovefiles

com.training.memorygame

Push Message- Texting & SMS

Fingertip GameBox

com.contact.withme.texts

com.cheery.message.sendsms (two different instances)

com.LPlocker.lockapps

Safety AppLock

Emoji Wallpaper

com.hmvoice.friendsms

com.peason.lovinglovemessage

com.remindme.alram

Convenient Scanner 2

Separate Doc Scanner

The Counterpoint researchers suggest users tcheck their devices for these apps and immediately uninstall them. The user should then go through their credit card bills to check for any unintended subscription. If they find any discrepancies, they can unsubscribe to stay safe from future deductions. The user is also asked to install a security solution to provide any future issues. To read the detailed report on what caused the malware to enter Play Store click here.

Since the malware is very tricky to spot, it is expected to make a comeback in some applications. Users can keep tabs on their credit card statements to be sure that they aren’t victims to any of these apps.