They were downloaded millions of times: dangerous Google Play apps you should avoid

Not all applications you install on your smartphone can be safe. At the same time, it is quite possible to download such software even from the official store.

Thus, iTechUA writes that a study by the American company Zscaler found as many as 200 malicious applications in the Google Play store. The total number of their downloads amounted to 8 million.

Zscaler experts analyzed the presence of malware on Google Play and other platforms from June 2023 to April 2024. The seven most common cyber threats were found in this particular store.

The first place on the list was taken by the Joker infostealer, which allows attackers to access SMS and sign users up for premium services. It accounts for 38.2% of all malware downloads.

The second was a variety of adware. It intrusively shows ads or broadcasts them in the background, increasing the number of displays. Such programs also account for a third of downloads - 35.9%,

Facestealer, an application that steals data from social media accounts, took third place. It accounts for 14.7% of downloads.

Another infostealer came in fourth. Coper has a keylogger function and can overlay phishing pages on top of regular ones. Its share is 3.7%.

Three trojans round out the ominous seven: Loanly Installer (2.3%), Harly (1.4%), and Anatsa/Teabot (0.9%).

Most often, malware could be found in such Google Play sections as Tools, Personalization, Photography, Productivity, and Lifestyle. The attackers use almost half of the malware there.

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