Windows Malware Found in Over 100 Android Apps

More than 130 apps in the Google Play store were found to be infected with Windows malware. Find out more about this incident and what it means for your security.

Security

Apr 17, 2017

by PSafe Newsroom

Recently, security firm Palo Alto Networks discovered Windows malware in about 132 Android apps from the Google Play store. The security firm believes that the various developers of the apps were victims of a malicious attack, and that they did not know malware had infected their platform and their apps. The infected apps have since been removed from the Play store. This incident is an important reminder that you should regularly scan your various devices for malware. Use Security Scan now to scan your device:

As this case showed, the developers weren’t intentionally malicious or suspicious-looking. That means that any seemingly safe app — i.e. normal language, downloads, reviews, and graphics — could be secretly hiding malware. After you download a new app on your smartphone, you should always run a quick virus scan on your Android. The Security Scan feature will make sure that the app is not malicious by nature or secretly infected with malware.

What Type of Malware Was Found?

The malware on the apps included malicious code in the form of HTML files. Although this malware is technically harmless on Android’s operating system (as it was designed for Windows and was downloaded from websites that no longer exist), this still points to an alarming future trend. Palo Alto Networks revealed that developers’ apps could become carriers for malware, meaning the malware could be designed to infect devices that come into contact with your phone.

The Windows malware was designed to alter the firewall settings on your computer, change files, and replicate and spread, among other functions. Once hidden in various apps in the Play store, the malware went undetected for a long time. That’s why it’s important to frequently check your devices for malware, even if your phone or apps aren’t behaving abnormally. They could still be infected with suspect code or spyware that’s not easy to detect.

Make Sure Apps Are Protected and Secure

To further protect the privacy of your apps, you should lock your most sensitive apps with Applock. This will allow you to lock apps like your Facebook app, contacts, text messages, banking apps, email, and more with a password. Even if a hacker or malicious individual gains access to your device, they won’t be able to access the apps that you lock. This will protect hackers from using your personal information against you. Click here to protect your apps with a special password: