A few months ago, Google made headlines due to malicious apps that have been spotted in its app marketplace. There were also some apps that have crossed various lines regarding appropriate practices.
Collecting data from users
BGR reports that back in April, reports that Google was moving to ban one of the biggest Android app developers (DO Global) from the Google Play Store.
This was after a few of its apps were caught sharing data that they collected with the Chinese government. There were also more concerns but this was the most stringent one.
BGR is now back with more similar reports because the events seem to be happening all over again.
Researchers from the mobile security company Lookout have revealed that there are 238 apps that have been downloaded in aggerate more than 440 million times from the Google Play Store that were found to include BeiTaAd Plugin.
According to BGR, “That’s a strain of adware that can apparently render a mobile device almost unusable.”
The plugin displays ads on the users’ lock screen
They also write that in the report, security intelligence engineer Kristina Balaam reveals that the number of downloads makes this family of apps “unique in its prevalence and the level of obfuscation used to hide the plugin’s existence.”
According to the report, “The plugin forcibly displays ads on the user’s lock screen, triggers video and audio advertisements even while the phone is asleep, and displays out-of-app ads that interfere with a user’s interaction with other applications on their device.”
It seems that the abuses on Google’s Play Store keep continuing and this remains an ongoing issue, and the blame falls on developers who continue to find all kinds of innovative ways to try and sneak past Google’s “ability to police” its store, as BGR puts it.
In other Google Play Store-related news, the latest update for the store is here and it brings an enhanced browsing experience.
After finishing Theatrical Journalism at the Faculty of Theatre and Television in Cluj-Napoca, Rada reviewed movies, books, theatre pieces and she also wrote articles from the IT niche as a content editor for software producers. At the moment, she is working with various online advertising firms.
