A new Joker malware-type virus is reportedly spreading to Android apps. This new security exploit is alarming as researchers claim that the new malware has infected apps with millions of downloads.
(Photo: Rob Hampson of Unsplash)
Experts say the comeback Joker malware is back with a malicious scheme for victims.
Now imagine if hackers take advantage of this new virus. Maxime Ingrao, a French cybersecurity expert, working for the security company Evina, is the one who confirmed the appearance of the new malware.
He announced his findings via his official Twitter post on July 13.
“Found a new malware family that subscribes to premium services. 8 apps since June 2021, 2 apps still on Play Store, +3 million installs,” the security expert said via his last tweet.
New family of malware discovered that subscribes to premium services 👀
8 apps since June 2021, 2 apps still on Play Store, +3M installs 💀💀
No web view like #Joker but only http requests
let’s call it #Autolycos 👾#Android #malware #Evina pic.twitter.com/SgTfrAOn6H
— Maxime Ingrao (@IngraoMaxime) July 13, 2022
New Joker Malware virus affects Google Apps!
According to the latest report from Phone Arena, the new Autolycos malware is quite similar to the Joker malware. This means that this Android virus can also steal money from Google users without them knowing that they are already hacked.
(Photo: Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
In this photo illustration an image of the Google logo is reflected in the eye of a young man on August 09, 2017 in London, England. Founded in 1995 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google today makes hundreds of products used by billions of people around the world, from YouTube and Android to Smartbox and Google Search.
Also Read: Google Chrome Hack: New Update Released, But Windows, Android Users Are Still At Risk
Ingrao explained that one of the differences between Joker and Autolycos malware is the lack of web display of the virus. Instead, Autolycos only uses HTTP requests.
He added that hackers could promote the new malware by creating Facebook pages that run infected FB and IG ads. Ingrao further explained that Autolycos can retrieve a JSON on the C2 address “68.183.219.190/pER/y”.
To promote the apps, the scammers create several Facebook pages and run ads on Facebook and Instagram.
For example, there were 74 ad campaigns for Razer Keyboard & Theme malware pic.twitter.com/lLl9faZjQI
— Maxime Ingrao (@IngraoMaxime) July 13, 2022
After that it will run the URLs and return the results to include the requests. Thanks to this, Autolycos will not generate web views, which will allow it to be more stealthy compared to the Joker malware.
Delete these Google apps now
If you don’t want to be infected with the new Autolycos malware, you should remove the following Google apps:
- Vlog Star Video Editor
- Creative 3D Launcher
- Emoji Keyboard
- Razer Keyboard and Theme
- Freeglow Camera 1.0.0
- Coco Camera v1.1
- funny camera
- Wow Beauty Camera
You can remove these apps in two ways. The first is to search their names on the official Google Play Store platform and click on the uninstall button.
The second is to find the actual app on your device. After that, long press on the app until the uninstall button appears.
In the list of apps above, Vlog Star Video Editor and Creative 3D Launcher are the most dangerous since they already have more than 1 million downloads.
You can visit this link to see more details about them.
Recently, security experts discovered fake Windows 11 downloads that spread Vidar malware.
On the other hand, four Google applications were found to be infected with the notorious Joker malware.
For more information on the new Autolycos malware and other security threats appearing on the official Google Play Store, keep your tabs open here on TechTimes.
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This article belongs to TechTimes
Written by: Griffin Davis
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