Google Removes 17 Android Apps Infected with Joker Malware

On the Play Store, 17 Android apps were caught engaging to gain access to the user’s data. So Google has removed these 17 apps from its official Play Store. As per the reports, these apps were infected with Joker Malware, which is also called Bread Malware.

17 Android Apps Removed From Google Play Store

Google Removes 17 Android Apps Infected with Joker Malware
Google Removes 17 Android Apps Infected with Joker Malware

The security researchers at Zscaler, the IT Company, which is based in California, has identified these apps.

Viral Gandhi, a security researcher of Zscaler, said,

“This spyware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information, along with silently signing up the victim for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services.”

These malicious apps were uploaded on Play Store earlier this month. However, they didn’t get a chance to gain popularity. These apps had more than 120,000 downloads. As Google notified about the 17 apps which tried to gain unauthorised access to the user’s data, the Android security team removed the apps from the play store.

These are the 17 Android apps removed from Play Store:

  1. All Good PDF Scanner
  2. Mint Leaf Message-Your Private Message
  3. Unique Keyboard – Fancy Fonts & Free Emoticons
  4. Tangram App Lock
  5. Direct Messenger
  6. Private SMS
  7. One Sentence Translator – Multifunctional Translator
  8. Style Photo Collage
  9. Meticulous Scanner
  10. Desire Translate
  11. Talent Photo Editor – Blur focus
  12. Care Message
  13. Part Message
  14. Paper Doc Scanner
  15. Blue Scanner
  16. Hummingbird PDF Converter – Photo to PDF
  17. All Good PDF Scanner

Google removed these apps and used the Play Protect service, but then also the user needs to check and remove the apps from the devices manually.

Earlier this month, Google has banned 6 new apps which were also infected with the same Joker malware. The security researchers from Pradeo reported these apps.

Before this, in July, also Google removed a few of the apps infected with Joker malware. Security researchers from Anquanke discovered these. Since 2017, Google has removed 1700 apps infected with Joker malware.

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