Once again, the Play Store is hit by an epidemic of spyware, with 101 apps compromised by malware capable of stealing personal and banking information. Delete them quickly if you have them installed!

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Once again the Play Store is hit by an epidemic

Once again, the Play Store is hit by an epidemic of spyware, with 101 apps compromised by malware capable of stealing personal and banking information. Delete them quickly if you have them installed!

Once again, many infected apps have been discovered in the Play Store, Google’s app store for Android – you don’t change good old habits! Despite the tools and security measures deployed by the Redmond firm, hackers are constantly developing new strategies to circumvent them. This time, computer security researchers from Doctor Web spotted no less than 101 infected apps, some of which are quite popular. In total, they have been downloaded more than 421 million times. They contain spyware called SpinOk which, distributed as an advertising SDK – a code snippet that makes it easier for developers to integrate advertisements into their applications – collects a large amount of personal data, which it then sends to an unknown server.

SpinOk: spyware disguised as mini-games and advertisements

On the surface, SpinOk adopts very legitimate behavior, offering mini-games with daily rewards. “On the surface, the SpinOk module is designed to keep users interested in apps using mini-games, a task system, pretend prizes, and prize draws”, explains the Doctor Web report. Yet, in the background, it checks data from the Android device’s sensors (gyroscope, magnetometer, etc.) to make sure it’s not running in a sandbox environment — which typically allows researchers to scan Android apps to find out if they’re malicious – so you don’t get detected. It then connects to a remote server to download a list of URLs used to display the expected banner ads. During this time, it lists the files in the directories, downloads them and copies and replaces the contents of the clipboard. This allows them to recover private images, videos and documents, as well as steal account passwords and credit card data, or divert cryptocurrency payments to their own wallets.

© Doctor Web

Here is the list of infected apps:

  • Alaa win play
  • Bank Bingo Slot
  • Bingo Joy
  • Bingo Tour
  • Bingo-J
  • Bitcoin Cash Giveaway
  • BitCoin Connect
  • Biugo – video maker&video editor
  • Blitz Slots
  • Bubble Connect – puzzle match
  • bucksfire
  • Cake Factory: Pop Match3
  • candy gas
  • Cash Prizes – Earn Rewards App
  • CashEM: Get Rewards
  • Cashzine – Earn money reward
  • Casino Royale: Wild Slots
  • ChipWin To 21: Merge game
  • Big Bang Corner
  • Corner Vibes
  • Color Chess
  • Crazy Drop
  • Daily Step
  • Digger Master – Casino slots
  • DigiWards
  • Domino Master
  • Fantasy Pusher
  • Fast Wallet – Earn Money & games
  • Fizzo Novel – Reading Offline
  • Fruit BigBang
  • Fruit Drop
  • Game Reward – Real Money Games
  • Gamony: Make Money Everyday
  • Get Rich Scanner
  • Gold Miner Coin Dozer
  • Holiday Solitaire Party
  • InstaCash:Earn rewards
  • Jackpot Bingo Slots
  • Jackpot King – Coin Pusher
  • Jelly Connect
  • Lion Coin: The King of Rewards
  • Lotto Scratch and Win
  • Lucky Clover Bingo
  • Lucky Jackpot Pusher
  • Lucky Money – Real Money Games
  • Lucky Word Club
  • Make Money & Earn Cash Rewards
  • Mania Vegas Slots
  • Match Fun 3D
  • Maya Merge
  • Mega Blast Tree
  • Mega Coin Dozer
  • Mega Win Slots
  • MemGuru
  • Mission Guru: Brain Boost
  • Money Game-Win Real Cash
  • Money Gun – Earn money easily
  • Money Tube: Video Player
  • Money Well: Play game & earn cash
  • MVBit – MV video status maker
  • Noizz: video editor with music
  • Novelah – Read fiction & novel
  • NovelFun
  • OhCash
  • Owl Pop Mania
  • Parking Inc. 3D
  • Pic Pro – AI Photo Enhancer
  • Piggy Rush Slot
  • PixMania: Ganhe premios no pix
  • PlayTube
  • PlayBox: Rewarded Play
  • Pop Rewards
  • Puzzle Cash
  • Queen Match-Triple Tile Master
  • Reweize: Earn Rewards
  • Royal Dice Party
  • Royal Fishing Party
  • SmartWalk
  • Solitaire Arena
  • Solitaire Go: TriPeaks
  • Space Pop: Bubble Shooter
  • Star Quiz
  • Star Coin
  • Step Counter: Keep Fit
  • StepWin-Pedometer & Step Tracker
  • Survey Cash – Earn Easy Cash
  • SurveyKing – Earn from surveys
  • SWE Rewards “Swedswap”
  • Tap Away 3D
  • Tick: watch to earn
  • Treasure Scanner
  • Trend Games
  • TT Tube:Short Video
  • VFly: video editor&video maker
  • VibeTik
  • Video Tube: Cash Back
  • Water Puzzle Captain
  • Weather & Rewards – Real Money
  • Witch Slots 2
  • WOW Dominos
  • Youth Rewards – Cash App
  • Zapya – File Transfer, Share

The apps have since been removed from the Play Store. However, if you have already installed one of them on your smartphone, remove it immediately. The researchers don’t know if the developers of the apps were tricked by the SDK’s distributor or if they intentionally included it in their program. In any case, keep in mind that downloading an application from an official store does not mean that you will not be at risk. That’s why it’s best to only install apps you really need and remove the ones you no longer use. Before each download, take the time to check the small details that could give you a hint – number of downloads, reviews, name of the developer, authorization requests, other apps developed… Finally, use an antivirus in background to verify that malicious behavior is not secretly at work.

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