Android mobile apps with over 700.000 installations use a new trick to avoid being completely removed.
Three Android apps, published on Google Play Store και χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την εμφάνιση ανεπιθύμητων διαφημίσεων, έχουν παρατηρηθεί ότι χρησιμοποιούν μια έξυπνη technique to prevent them from being uninstalled by the user.
According to ESET security researcher Lukas Stefanko, these applications are Super Camera Lite, Excellent Camera, and Ideal Camera have over 700.000 facilities in the Play Store.
Once one of the above apps is installed on a device Android, το σύστημα δημιουργεί αυτόματα ένα εικονίδιο για να την ξεκινήσετε. Ωστόσο, μετά την πρώτη implementation, the main icon of the app is deleted and a second one is created only by selecting “Remove” the app and not uninstalling it.
This method is designed to deceive users to believe they uninstall the app from their device while in fact it stays on the device and continues to display unwanted ads because only the second icon is deleted.
Stefanko also found a second list of applications based on the same method, which once again aims to make spam with advertisements to users. All applications are photo or camera processors, with normal functionality, explains the security researcher.
Recommended for users always read the comments before they download and install an app from the Google Play Store. Uninstalling an app must be done either from the Google Play Store or from the settings of apps from the phone and not by pressing the uninstall option that appears when you press and hold its icon on the home screen.
