{"id":8907,"date":"2017-03-17T14:56:46","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.hellotech.com\/?p=8907"},"modified":"2021-06-13T04:16:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T11:16:25","slug":"google-play-apps-windows-virus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/google-play-apps-windows-virus","title":{"rendered":"Beware! 100+ Google Play Apps May Infect Your Android Phone with a Windows Virus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s one modern mystery that left security experts scratching their heads. Experts may have warned about <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/hackers-target-mobile-websites\/\">hackers targeting more mobile users<\/a><\/u>, but this has only encouraged Google to do an even better job of protecting Android phones from malware threats. Sure, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/gooligan\/\">Gooligan<\/a><\/u> has made it past Google\u2019s ever-watchful eyes. For the most part, though, Android users have been fairly safe from cyber threats for years. Recently, though, a security company made an interesting discovery: hundreds of apps on Google Play have been hiding a possibly potent malware&#8230; from the wrong OS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-android-apps-carrying-windows-malware\">Android Apps Carrying Windows Malware?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on a <a href=\"http:\/\/researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com\/2017\/03\/unit42-google-play-apps-infected-malicious-iframes\/\">comprehensive report<\/a> from <em>Palo Alto Networks<\/em>, a cyber security firm, 132 Google Play apps have been harboring in secret what appears to be a malware designed to attack Windows systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The affected apps, made by seven different developers, basically showcased ideas ranging from gardening to cheesecake recipes. They\u2019re all pretty harmless at first glance, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With careful scrutiny, though, the applications\u2019 codes contained carefully concealed HTML-based iframe tags that connected the app (and by extension, the device) to two heavily disguised malicious portals. One notable app even loaded up an entire piece of malicious code directly into its host app using Microsoft\u2019s Visual Basic language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although these details sound outright scary, the malicious apps don\u2019t actually do anything to the Android device. Windows-based malware can only be absolute&nbsp;deadweight in an Android OS. Meaning, they can\u2019t execute and wreak havoc on your Android phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-are-the-app-developers-guilty-here\">Are the App Developers Guilty Here?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a pretty complex scheme, sure, but Palo Alto Networks think the developers were victims themselves. The researchers suspect the developers may have unknowingly used the same infected programming platform to code their apps. This is based on their finding that the affected apps\u2019 coding structure had a noticeable resemblance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another reason that led them to believe that the developers weren\u2019t malicious in their motives is the fact that the developers are all proximate to Indonesia. Many of their apps had the striking similarity of bearing the name \u201cIndonesia\u201d within their app names, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A more conclusive evidence to prove the developers\u2019 innocence is this: the malicious code linked to dormant domains (namely, <em>brenz.pl<\/em> and <em>chura.pl<\/em>). These sites have been taken down by Polish security a few years ago. If they had malicious motives, they could have easily replaced those two with active, malware-laden sites to cause real harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-google-s-swift-resolution\">Google\u2019s Swift Resolution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the apps could wreak havoc (though they really weren\u2019t capable of doing any damage to Android users, to begin with), the researchers at <em>Palo Alto Networks<\/em>&nbsp;reported the infected programs to Google. Not long after, the Google promptly took all 132 apps down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the apps being incapable of doing any form of damage to Android users, Google\u2019s resolution is deemed necessary. Why, you ask? Malware, even if left incapacitated, can victimize anyone under the right circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-potential-for-widespread-disaster\">A Potential for Widespread Disaster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This could all have gone downhill real fast. Although Android users are immune to such a cyber threat, this doesn\u2019t mean the threats are already neutralized. It makes anyone with an infected Android device capable of becoming a \u201ccarrier\u201d for the malware, possibly infecting other platforms without the owner\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One needs to look no further than 2015 to find evidence on how attacking developers can massively impact consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the height of the <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.lookout.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/20\/xcodeghost\/\">XcodeGhost outbreak<\/a>, the first major iOS malware attack, hundreds of millions of devices worldwide were infected. Several smartphone owners had their critical info stolen upon installing infected Apple App Store applications on their iOS device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a digital mayhem no one could ever sufficiently prepare for. Thankfully, history didn\u2019t repeat itself this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stay-safe-android-fans\">Stay Safe, Android Fans!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We may have dodged the bullet here, but we shouldn\u2019t let our guard down. Google highly recommends that we all go over and heed their <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/android\/answer\/6215472?hl=en\">tips to keep your Android device safe<\/a>. If their list seems too long and complex, here are some rules of thumb to remember:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-keep-your-android-os-updated\">Keep your Android OS updated<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Every new Android OS update brings with it critical security patches. Keep your device\u2019s OS up-to-date if you don\u2019t want it to be defenseless against new malware strains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-install-apps-from-unknown-sources\">Don\u2019t install apps from unknown sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While the infected apps we\u2019ve talked about in this post came directly from Google Play\u2019s official inventory, the situation is considered a rare case. For the most part, your Android phone could be an easier target for malware attacks if you install applications from uncertified developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-download-a-reliable-mobile-antivirus-app\">Download a reliable mobile antivirus app <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before you go surfing the Web or download anything on your Android phone or tablet, get a powerful anti-malware app installed. Can\u2019t seem to determine which one to go for? Well, you\u2019d be wise to put your faith on antivirus (AV) apps made by the most renowned AV companies today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay safe in cyberspace, everyone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s one modern mystery that left security experts scratching their heads. Experts may have warned about hackers targeting more mobile users, but this has only encouraged Google to do an even better job of protecting Android phones from malware threats. Sure, Gooligan has made it past Google\u2019s ever-watchful eyes. For the most part, though, Android users have been fairly safe from cyber threats for years. Recently, though, a security company made an interesting discovery: hundreds of apps on Google Play [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17587,17593],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-staying-safe"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.10 (Yoast SEO v20.10) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Beware! 100+ Google Play Apps May Infect Your Android Phone with a Windows Virus - The Plug - HelloTech<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently, though, a security company made an interesting discovery: hundreds of apps on Google Play have been hiding a possibly potent malware from Windows.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/google-play-apps-windows-virus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beware! 100+ Google Play Apps May Infect Your Android Phone with a Windows Virus - The Plug - HelloTech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s one modern mystery that left security experts scratching their heads. Experts may have warned about hackers targeting more mobile users, but this has\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/google-play-apps-windows-virus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Plug - HelloTech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hellotech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-17T21:56:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-13T11:16:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/googleplay.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HelloTech\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HelloTech\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/google-play-apps-windows-virus#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/google-play-apps-windows-virus\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dec00225dd888a509740ace5e4d9de6c\"},\"headline\":\"Beware! 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