More than 20 million Android users downloaded apps from the Google Play Store that contained dangerous malware. The 16 popular applications were infected with the new Clicker malware strain, which cybercriminals use to generate illegal advertising revenue. One of these apps alone has received over 10 million downloads.
This nasty new bug was discovered by McAfee security experts, who informed Google of their findings, resulting in the nefarious apps being removed from the Play Store.
However, if you downloaded any of them before Google removed them, they will remain on your Android device.
This means that any affected users must delete these dangerous Android apps right away. Those who ignore this warning risk having their phone’s resources depleted as the malware runs in the background.
This can result in a drop in performance, a device’s battery draining faster than usual, overheating, and chunks of monthly mobile data allowance being consumed.
This news comes on the heels of a recent stark warning from Facebook, which earlier this month warned users about over 400 Android and iPhone apps capable of stealing usernames and passwords.
In a blog post about the new Android threat, McAfee stated, “Recently, the McAfee Mobile Research Team identified new Clicker malware that sneaked into Google Play.” In total, 16 previously available on Google Play applications have been confirmed to contain the malicious payload, with an estimated 20 million installations.
“Google was notified by McAfee security researchers, and all of the identified apps are no longer available on Google Play.” Google Play Protect also protects users.”
The most popular Clicker-infected apps were High-Speed Camera (over 10 million downloads), Smart Task Manager / DxClean (over 5 million installs), and Flashlight+ (over a million users).
If you are worried you can find the full list of applications here.
