BE CAUTIOUS: Delete These Two Google Play Store Malware-Ridden Apps If You Have Them

If you have these two Google Play Store apps, it is strongly advised that you remove them immediately because they have been identified as having the Joker malware.

Due to the presence of malware, Google has disabled two apps, Smart TV Remote and Halloween Coloring. The Play Store has prohibited the apps and their creators.

The Joker malware is infamous for tricking victims into signing up for mobile services and for secretly stealing money from their bank accounts. Android users are reportedly the malware’s main victims.

This year, the Joker malware was frequently in the news. One of them is that it impacted 500,000 Huawei devices in April. Most recently, malware was found in a “Squid Game” software.

Google Play Store eliminates two malicious apps.

In fact two apps that were found to have the Joker malware have been removed from the Google Play Store. These include Halloween Coloring and the Smart TV Remote. Since its release last month, the Smart TV Remote app has been installed more than 1,000 times.

These two Google Play Store apps contain malware, based on a report by Bleeping Computer citing Android Malware Analyst Tatyana Shishkova of Kaspersky.

According to a Google spokesman who spoke with Bleeping Computer, the app developers have been barred from the Google Play Store.

The Smart TV Remote and Halloween Coloring apps should be deleted right away by those who have already downloaded them. It is also advised for users to see if any unauthorized subscriptions were made by the malware.

The Joker Malware: What is it?

What is the Joker malware, exactly? The Joker malware, according to Bleeping Computer, “is known to subscribe users to premium mobile services without their consent or knowledge.“

According to the research, “the threat actors responsible for the Joker malware conceal malicious code in apparently innocent apps and upload these to official app stores.”

According to an Entrepreneur story, the Joker software also secretly purges victims’ bank accounts.

After it was revealed that the Joker malware affected 500,000 Huawei devices in April, it garnered media attention earlier this year. The Huawei devices were attacked after downloading Android apps that contained the virus, claims a Tech Times story.

Joker malware is included in further Android apps.

Since there have been other Android apps found to have the Joker malware in addition to the two that were recently removed from the Google Play Store, it appears that Android apps are a preferred target for the malware.

Eight Google Play Store apps were found to have the Joker malware back in June. Another 11 apps, including com.file.recovefiles, com.file.recovefiles, and com.relax.relaxation.androidsms, were also found to have malware last year.

Read the original article on techtimes.com

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