Unwanted ads are being hidden within nine apps found on the Google Play Store and have been flooding users’ devices. One of the apps has already been downloaded five million times while the total of the nine apps is nearly eight million globally. These apps are non-functioning and are placed specifically to deploy adware in hopes of financial gain for the developers.
The developing company behind these apps is “Tools4TV,” which has been around since 2015. All of the apps are a remote of some sort. It is suspected that there were 85 apps on the Play Store that were using adware until Google took them down. It is still trying to be determined if these apps are connected to the ones just discovered. Google has also booted the developing company, Tool4TV, along with their apps.
Binary Defense Recommendation: It is recommended that users avoid downloading any third-party or unnecessary apps from the Play Store. Users should also read the reviews of the apps and determine whether or not the developer is a trusted one. Anti-virus is also suggested to help lower the chance of an attack.