they could be this malware

Security researcher at Bitdefender warns about apps hiding on phones and then overloading the user with advertisements. They take the form of a well-known app on your device and do everything they can to stay under the radar.

Malware in the form of duplicate apps

Now don’t suddenly panic if you find two Calendar apps on your phone. It often happens that the maker of your phone installs its own app on your device in addition to, for example, the Google Calendar app. However, duplicate apps can also indicate malware, Bitdefender warns, which has detected 35 such malicious apps in the Play Store, accounting for a total of 2 million installations.

When you find the apps in question in the Play Store, they pretend to be a harmless camera app or a sticker pack. Then the malware does not take effect every time . It only becomes active when certain conditions are met, such as: the correct age of the user and the language set on the phone.

Advertising on the lock screen

When the malware starts working, the app suddenly gets a different name and a new app icon. That happens after receiving an update. The relevant app will then be called ‘Settings’ with an appropriate icon, for example. When the user taps on the app, it immediately redirects to the real settings. The fake application is also not visible in the Recent apps menu.

You will also see a lot of advertisements on your phone. The malicious app may ask users for special permissions so that they can display ads on your lock screen, for example. Of course, such an action should ring a bell for the more informed user.

Four malicious apps still available in the Play Store

Hide and seek

According to Bitdefender, Google’s antivirus scanner for the Play Store cannot recognize the malware because the code of the apps contains so much confusion and encryption that reverse engineering is very difficult. All 35 apps Bitdefender has discovered are believed to have come from the same criminals, even though they are officially from 35 different developers, each offering only one app on the Play Store.

It’s also not the first time that this form of malware has crawled through the cracks of Google’s net. For example, we previously wrote about a malicious app that changed its name to the seemingly harmless ‘Sim toolkit’.

These are the malware apps

If you see a suspicious app on your phone, press and hold the app icon and choose app info, often indicated by an ‘i’ icon. Scroll down and choose App details or App data in the store. You can then view the app in the Play Store. If you also want to see the package name of the app, press the menu with the three dots in the Play Store and then press Parts. You can then copy the url of the app where the package name also appears.

Below you can fully discover the package names of all malicious apps. Some of them are still available in the Play Store, and they are listed below with a link to the application store. If you want to discover the package names of all the apps that are no longer available in the Play Store, you can use an app like Package Name Viewer 2.0.

• gb.packlivewalls.fournatewren
• gb.blindthirty.funkeyfour
• gb.convenientsoftfiftyreal.threeborder
• gb.helectronsoftforty.comlivefour
• gb.fiftysubstantiated.wallsfour
• gb.actualfifty.sevenelegantvideo
• gb.crediblefifty.editconvincingeight
• de.eightylamocenko.editioneight
• gb.convincingmomentumeightyverified.realgamequicksix
• gb.labcamerathirty.mathcamera
• gb.mega.sixtyeffectcameravideo
• gb.theme.twentythreetheme
• gb.tolltwentytwo.ikey
• com.smart.tools.wifi
• jkdf.gds.gds.g
• com.newsoft.camera
• com.xmas.artgirlswallpaperhd
• hj.jk.jikj.jkj
• com.creator.smartqrcreator
• finze.lockgti.dae.cag
• kk.f.ea.tew.t
• com.xmas.girlsartwallpaper
• sc.qs.vak
• zzhse.ge.ge.ge.e
• ice.ccylice.volume
• ck.lad.secret
• smart.ggps.lockakt
• am.asm.master
• com.charging.show
• com.voice.sleep.sounds
• joao.de.def.e.aew
• ifa.nod.vys
• qu.motor.astrology
• ice.ccylice.colorize
• gb.sixtycreativecyber.magiceleganttwo

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