Google has found malicious apps hidden in the Play Store that have been downloaded more than 500,000 times – BGR

Google quickly took action after discovering that more than a dozen applications installing malicious programs on user computers were in the Google Play store.

The company removed 13 Android apps, which included driving simulations of cars and trucks, as well as a couple that had been featured in the store's trends section. However, this suppression occurred after a researcher claimed that at least 500,000 users had downloaded the applications altogether, which could have installed malware on their devices.

From a report via NDTV Gadgets: "The applications did not only present no legitimate functionality, but also hid in the handsets to facilitate the installation of malware … In a tweet [which you can read below] Lukas Stefanko, security researcher at ESET, revealed detailed information on the 13 malicious apps found in the Google Play Store. He claimed that these applications containing Android malware had been downloaded more than 560,000 times. Interestingly, all applications have listed a single developer named Luiz Pinto. "

the NDTV The report states that the apps were essentially disguised as games, but they did not work and collapsed at each launch. They included a luxury car driving simulator and their thumbnails showed graphics that made them legitimate. According to the tweet above, the applications would require the installation of an additional APK file. Stefanko then posted videos showing how they work, which you can see here:

"This is not the first time that a large number of Android users are affected by malicious applications containing malicious software" NDTV piece rightly concludes. "Last year, an automatic click adware called Judy was discovered on 41 apps and would have affected between 8.5 and 36.5 million Android devices. In addition, another botnet malware called FalseGuide would have infected millions of Android devices via Google Play. "

Google, for one, knows that it must be more aggressive in this area. In January, the company revealed that it had extracted more than 700,000 malicious apps from the Play Store last year.

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