Android mobile apps with over 700.000 installations use a new trick to avoid being completely removed.
Three Android apps, published on the Google Play Store and used for appearance adware, have been observed to use a clever technique to prevent the user from uninstalling them.
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, the system automatically creates an icon to start it. However, after the first run, the main icon of the app is deleted and a second one is created only by selecting the “Remove” option of the app and not uninstalling it.
This method is made to trick users into thinking that they are uninstalling the app from their device, when in fact, it remains on the device and continues to display unwanted advertisements, because only the second icon is deleted.
Stefanko also found a second list of apps based on the same method, once again aimed at spamming users with ads. All apps are photo or camera editors, with normal functionalsecurity researcher explains.
Recommended for users always read the comments before downloading and installing an app from the Google Play Store. Removing an app should either be done from the Google Play Store or app settings from the phone and not by tapping the removal option that appears when you hold down its icon on the home screen.
