Recently found two applications on the Google Play Store that store dangerous malware, namely Joker.
The two apps, 'smart TV remote' and 'Halloween colouring', were compromised by the Joker malware, which is notorious for spying, stealing information, and monitoring messages on Android phones.
Although Google has implemented various methods to prevent this kind of intrusion from happening, in fact it can still happen too. Boris Cipot, Senior Security Engineer of the Synopsys Software Integrity Group spoke about this issue.
According to him, Android users should not fully trust the security system in the Play Store, which is claimed to be able to protect Android users from potentially dangerous software or even malware.
"Although there is already a protector in the Google Play Store to protect Android users against malware, you should not fully trust this protection. Google has its own way of checking applications that are not directly harmful to the user or device," Cipot said in a statement received by us.
"But criminals will always find a way to break through this protection, even if only temporarily. When the dangers of the application are discovered, it is certainly too late for many users," he concluded.
Cipot gives some tips so you don't get stuck installing dangerous apps, either from the Play Store or from anywhere else. Among other tips is to check how long the application has been in the Play Store and when it was first published.
Then also make sure the reviews from users of the application are not fake reviews. Applications that ask for too many permissions on the phone are also suspect.
"Make sure you use anti-malware protection software on your cellphone. Even though the latest malware may not be recognized by this kind of software, at least this kind of software can detect suspicious applications, such as asking for too many permissions," concluded Cipot.
