[ad_1]
Google has begun to remove a multitude of apps from the Google Play store owned by a major developer, as a result of an investigation of apps and their widespread advertising fraud practices.
An investigation by BuzzFeed News revealed these illicit practices, led by the Chinese application developer DO Global, which partly belongs to the technology giant Baidu.
The publication revealed that at least six mobile apps offered by DO Global were deploying adware, which imposed click fraud even when users were not actively present in the app.
Click fraud is often embedded in online applications and services to generate fraudulent clicks to receive payments through ad networks.
The apps in question were released under generic publisher names and did not disclose that they belonged to DO Global, which is in itself a violation of Google Play's policies.
See also: Bad Bots now account for 20% of web traffic
All six of DO Global's adware applications were quickly removed, resulting in the loss of 40 additional applications from the same developer. Before the crackdown, the developer was proposing a hundred applications with more than 600 million installations between them.
Google did not respond to the publication's request for comment, but a close source of the record suggested that DO Global could be subject to an absolute ban on its activities.
In a statement to the publication, Do Global said that an internal investigation is underway and that "irregularities in some of our products" are using AdMob ads, Google's mobile advertising service.
This "unfortunate" conclusion means that Do Global "fully accepts" Google's decision to remove apps.
TechRepublic: Generalized fraudulent campaigns targeting millions of people discovered by GoDaddy and Palo Alto Networks
"In the future, we will strictly adhere to the regulations in force and will continue to thoroughly review our products," the company said. "[…] We offer our sincere apologies. "
Last week, Avast researchers uncovered 50 Google Play apps for fitness and lifestyle that had managed to bypass the platform's security barriers to serve as advertising software. users. The applications in question have been downloaded about 30 million times and have been connected to each other through third-party libraries used to issue malicious code.
CNET: Android phone lost or stolen? Here's how to get it back
Check Point had previously discovered 206 apps in the Google Play store containing the SimBad malware, which can not only act as adware, but also commit phishing attacks. Together, these malicious apps have been downloaded 150 million times.
Previous and related coverage
Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499 or more at Keybase: charlie0
[ad_2]
Source link