As reviews on the Play Store can be faked, it’s also worth checking online to find written or video reviews of any app you’re thinking about installing on your Android phone. This is why you should carefully check the reviews and ratings of each app you download. How to stay safe from malicious Android appsĭespite Google’s best efforts, malicious apps often end up on the Play Store. Surprisingly, Harly is even capable of calling specific phone numbers when necessary and confirming subscriptions. The end result is that the victim is signed up for a subscription service without realizing it.

The phone then switches from Wi-Fi to a mobile network and the malware contacts the C&C server to put together a list of subscriptions to sign up for.įrom here, Harly opens the subscription sites in an invisible window, enters a victim’s phone number, presses the required button and even enters any confirmation codes sent via text. Once installed, Harly collects information about a user’s device along with details about the mobile network they’re using. Signing victims up for subscription servicesĪlthough Joker and Harly work a bit differently under the hood, both malware strains are used to sign up users whose devices have been infected for expensive subscription services without their knowledge. Pixel Screen Wallpaper - 100,000+ downloads.Funcalls-Voice Changer - 100,000+ downloads.Action Launcher & Wallpapers - 100,000+ downloads.Live Wallpaper&Themes Launcher - 100,000+ downloads.

Here's a list of all of the affected apps along with how many times they've been downloaded from the Play Store: Delete these apps nowĮven though all of the apps listed below have since been removed from the Play Store, you will still need to delete them manually if any of them have been installed on your devices. With the Harly malware though, the apps themselves contain the entire malicious payload and use different methods to decrypt and launch it. Since the now altered apps still include the features listed on their Play Store pages, most users don’t suspect a thing.Īpps containing the Joker malware use multi-stage downloaders to receive their malicious payloads from command and control (C&C) servers controlled by an attacker.

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