Recently, Google reported that it removed a number of applications from the Play Store because they contained dangerous malware known as the Joker Virus.
It is ransomware that enters devices by infecting the cell phone's SIM card and obtaining partial control of the cell phone to carry out different types of actions - the most damaging being a subscription to payment services via SMS without the owner's permission.
In this way, the virus whose origin dates back to 2017 and is known to attack silently, spy on the personal data of its victims and is even capable of fraud by charging for false services.
Along these lines, Google warned about five types of applications that usually hide malware and released the complete list of applications that contain the Joker virus.
THE 5 TYPES OF APPLICATIONS THAT CONTAIN VIRUSES
1. Applications that promise to expand storage
To expand the storage of an Android phone, it is recommended to buy and insert a microSD card, as no mobile application is capable of expanding the internal memory.
Therefore, those applications that promise to increase storage are likely to be dangerous malware.
2. Applications that 'clean' the device
There are applications in the Android store that claim to clean the files and the phone cache.
For security, it is recommended to do it manually by entering the internal storage of the phone. There, unnecessary data, files and cache can be deleted one by one.
3. Battery saving apps
Although the possibility of saving a battery sounds tempting, no mobile application is capable of saving the energy that a smartphone uses.
Therefore, when you download one of these apps, it is likely that you are also downloading malware that violates the personal and sensitive data stored on the device.
4. Applications that control the temperature
In the same way that it is not possible to save battery by means of a mobile application, it is not feasible to control the temperature of a smartphone either.
Some applications from the Android Play Store claim to be able to keep a cell phone "cool". However, this is impossible. Therefore, if the person trusts one of these applications, they may be in danger.
5. Application replicas
In the application store, many times "fake" applications appear that copy a popular application. One of the most popular - and also dangerous - examples is the WhatsApp messaging application, as there are several services that claim to be "similar" but are not.
WHICH APPS CONTAIN THE JOKER VIRUS
According to the official Google report, there are eight apps removed from the Play Store that contained the malware . They are as follows:
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Auxiliary Message.
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Element Scanner.
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Fast Magic SMS.
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Free CamScanner.
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Go Messages.
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Super Message.
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Super SMS.
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Travel Wallpapers.
To these are added a series of applications that according to the cybersecurity company Zscaler could also contain the dangerous virus:
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Free Affluent Message
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PDF Photo Scanner
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Delux Keyboard
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Comply QR Scanner
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PDF Converter Scanner
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Font Style Keyboard
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Translate Free
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Saying Message
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Private Message
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Read Scanner
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Print Scanner
It is important to note that if any of these applications downloaded to the cell phone were downloaded - and strange subscriptions to services that were not contracted by text message were received - it is best to delete the applications and all the information they contained inside, to ensure that the cell phone is safe.