Rendering to a research done by the antivirus firm Avast 21 adware gaming apps on Google’s Play Store. After taking this into account the researcher has reported Google reportedly Google is still investigating and out of the 21 apps 19 are still available on the Play Store. As per the firm, the adware is part of the HiddenAds family that is pretending to be Trojan malware.
The Cybersecurity firm Avast says that this adware displays intrusive ads and tempting users into downloading the adware by posing as gaming apps. The apps promise to virtually “let your car fly across the road, trees, hills”, to shoot criminals from a helicopter, or, for household enthusiasts, allow players to virtually iron their clothes. While a mobile apps marketing intelligence and insights company SensorTower estimates that these so far, these masked apps have been downloaded about eight million times.
On the other hand, many of the reviews on the Google Play Store indicates that these apps misled users on the Play Store via advertisements on YouTube, promising a different game than what the app ultimately offered. Following the download, advertisements started flooding their phones.
Jakub Vávra, Threat Analyst at Avast said, “Developers of adware are increasingly using social media channels as regular marketers would. This time, users reported they were targeted with ads promoting the games on YouTube. In September we saw adware spread via TikTok. The popularity of these social networks makes them an attractive advertising platform, also for cybercriminals, to target a younger audience.” He further added, While Google is doing everything possible to prevent HiddenAds from entering its Play Store, the malicious apps keep finding new ways to disguise their true purpose, thus slipping through to the platform and then to users’ phones. Users need to be vigilant when downloading applications to their phones and are advised to check the applications’ profile, reviews and to be mindful of extensive device permission requests.”
As stated by Avast these gaming apps are a part of HiddenAds family is a Trojan disguised as a safe and useful application but instead serves intrusive ads outside of the app. Here is the list of HiddenAds applications on Google Play Store:
- Shoot Them
- Crush Car
- Rolling Scroll
- Helicopter Attack – NEW
- Assassin Legend – 2020 NEW
- Helicopter Shoot
- Rugby Pass
- Flying Skateboard
- Iron it
- Shooting Run
- Plant Monster
- Find Hidden
- Find 5 Differences – 2020 NEW,
- Rotate Shape
- Jump Jump
- Find the Differences – Puzzle Game
- Sway Man
- Money Destroyer
- Desert Against
- Cream Trip – NEW
- Props Rescue
These campaigns are repurposing existing gaming applications and add aggressive HiddenAds features to be displayed for users. Stealth features such as hiding their icons and having relevant looking advertisements make such adware difficult to identify and remove.
For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date using the Gadget Bridge Android App.
