Google removed 17 apps from Play Store, were infected with the Joker malware

Google has removed 17 Android apps from its Play Store this week, due to security reason. These 17 apps were infected by the joker (bread) malware and first spotted by the security researchers of Zscalers.

The apps with malware were uploaded this month on the Google Play Store. The apps have been downloaded more than 120,000 times before being removed from the store.

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Google used the Play Protect service to disable the Joker virus-infected apps, but users should still need to manually check and remove them from devices.

Zscaler security researcher Viral Gandhi said this week:

“This spyware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information, along with silently signing up the victim for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services”

Here is a list of these 17 malicious apps –

● All Good PDF Scanner
● Mint Leaf Message-Your Private Message
● Unique Keyboard – Fancy Fonts & Free Emoticons
● Tangram App Lock
● Direct Messenger
● Private SMS
● One Sentence Translator – Multifunctional Translator
● Style Photo Collage
● Meticulous Scanner
● Desire Translate
● Talent Photo Editor – Blur focus
● Care Message
● Part Message
● Paper Doc Scanner
● Blue Scanner
● Hummingbird PDF Converter – Photo to PDF
● All Good PDF Scanner

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Apart from this time, Google has removed a batch of Joker virus-infected apps from Play Store two times in the past few months. Earlier this month, Google removed 6 infected apps from its app store, which was spotted by security researchers from Pradeo.

In the month of July, Google removed a set of applications, they were downloaded by millions of users, thanks to security researchers from Anquanke.

According to a blog post published by Google in January, the company described Joker as one of the most persistent and advanced threats it has dealt with in the past years. The company confirmed that it had removed more than 1,700 apps from the Play Store since 2017.