Beware of these popular Android apps containing deceptive adware

Have you recently downloaded a new game or wallpaper app on your Android device? If so, you might want to read on. Cybersecurity buffs from Dr.Web have unveiled a bunch of Android apps you should definitely be wary of. Here’s why.

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Man using his phone.

Experts have discovered Android apps that users should be aware of. (CyberGuy.com)

What’s the big deal?

Dr.Web’s diligent researchers pinpointed several Android applications that were silently serving ads and sneakily getting users signed up for premium services. These questionable apps were all on the Google Play Store and had been downloaded about two million times.

These apps masked themselves as innocent games, messaging platforms and wallpaper tools. Their underlying code, however, was affiliated with notorious malware types referred to as FakeApp, Joker and HiddenAds.

MORE: GUARD YOUR PASSWORDS: CHERYBLOS & FAKETRADE MALWARE THREATEN ANDROIDS 

How do these malicious apps work?

Once you install one of these apps, it quickly switches its icon to something you’d likely think twice about deleting, like the Chrome browser icon. Some even went the extra mile and removed their icons entirely, creating a puzzling empty gap in your app collection.

These stealthy apps run quietly in the background, bombarding victims with ads via their browsers. From casino promos to deceptive investment opportunities, these ads breach Google’s ad protocols, lining the pockets of these malicious app creators.

Delete these apps now

Super Skibydi Killer is the main culprit here, boasting a whopping one million downloads. Also keep an eye out for these apps:

HiddenAds apps:

  • Agent Shooter (500,000 downloads)
  • Rubber Punch 3D (500,000 downloads)
  • Rainbow Stretch (50,000 downloads)

AI APOCALYPSE TEAM FORMED TO FEND OFF CATASTROPHIC NUCLEAR AND BIOCHEMICAL DOOMSDAY SCENARIOS

Screenshot of the Google Play Store.

Super Skibydi

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This Popular App Is Now Available on Android Auto and CarPlay

While some carmakers believe that blocking Android Auto and CarPlay is the right way to go in the long term, most are fully committed to offering mobile phone projection in their cars.
JustPark on CarPlay
6 photos

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/JustPark

As a result, the app ecosystem keeps growing, with drivers getting new solutions regularly. This time, the parking app JustPark is the big name that joins the Android Auto and CarPlay fun, as the official app has just been updated with support for the two platforms.

Parking apps and Android Auto and CarPlay are a match made in heaven. While such software has been around for quite some time on mobile devices, allowing users to find a parking space and then pay for it in a matter of seconds, their expansion to the large screen on the dashboard happens at a rather slow pace.

JustPark is now joining Android Auto and CarPlay with nearly the entire set of features. However, drivers must know that the mobile device still controls most features (this is mobile phone projection, after all), so certain settings, such as the payment details, are only available on the smartphone.

JustPark lands on Android Auto and CarPlay with a full user interface and voice command integration. As such, if you want to search for a parking space close to your location, you can just say something like, “Hey, Siri, find parking on JustPark.” The command also works for Google Assistant.

The application then searches for nearby parking spaces, displays the available ones, and lets you navigate to the location. Using the saved payment details (credit card information), the application allows users to pay for parking right from the screen. Like on mobile devices, JustPark also allows users to extend the booking made on Android Auto and CarPlay. However, this option is

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Malicious Android spyware detected in over 100 popular apps

Brace yourself for this troubling revelation. A new report from researchers at the IT security solutions firm Dr. Web found that over 100 Android apps that collectively have over an astounding 421 million downloads are infected with a new malware strain. 

What is this new malware strain

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The malware strain has been named SpinOK, and it also contains a spyware module within it. SpinOK is being used mainly as a marketing software development kit (SDK) and was designed to maintain users’ interest in apps with the help of mini-games, a system of tasks, and alleged prizes and reward drawings.  

Below is an example of an ad SpinOk displays: 

android malware

 A new report from researchers at the IT security solutions firm Dr. Web found that over 100 Android apps (Cyberguy.com)

The team at Dr. Web found that SpinOK is capable of invading even the best Android phone models and stealing private information stored on them, including data from sensors that can be used to detect a simulated or test environment and adjust the operating routine to avoid being detected by cybersecurity experts. 

Once it has the information it needs, it will send it to a remote server controlled by the cybercriminals running SpinOK. 

What are the apps that have been affected? 

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS PRICE TRACKING FEATURE ON YOUR ANDROID?

There are over 100 Android apps that have been affected by this malware strain, and you can find a full list of them here. However, here is a list of the apps that have been downloaded the most often. 

Biugo – video maker&video editor (at least 50,000,000 installations) 

CashEM: Get Rewards (at least 5,000,000 installations) 

Cashzine

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Most popular custom ROMs for Android in 2023

Quick Links

If you have been following the Android aftermarket development scene for a while, you must have heard of custom ROMs. In a nutshell, a custom ROM is a third-party operating system that replaces the factory-installed stock ROM or skin on your phone. Even though manufacturers like Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi have done a great job of refining their Android skins, there’s still plenty of interest in developing and fine-tuning custom ROMs among Android enthusiasts, especially if you’re after the latest and greatest.

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A typical custom ROM comprises a kernel, a handful of low-level firmware bits extracted from the stock OS, additional software, and (in some cases) a standalone recovery environment besides the Android base. While any third-party Android OS package can be dubbed a custom ROM, the term is almost exclusively used to denote source-built Android distributions. As soon as Google drops the source code of a new version to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), the modding community starts working toward making the latest flavor of Android accessible to more and more devices in the form of custom ROMs. As such, there are a number of Android custom ROM distributions to choose from.

If you’re itching to try out a supercharged Android experience on any of the best Android phones or just want to breathe new life into an old device stored in your closet but can’t pick the perfect candidate, then this guide is for you. Below you can find the most popular custom ROMs in the domain of Android modding.


LineageOS

LineageOS Logo

Truth be told, the LineageOS project doesn’t really need an introduction at this point. Being the true successor to the legendary CyanogenMod project, LineageOS is a lightweight ROM with the

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Fitbit eliminates popular group functions from the app

Update (Mar 27, 9:00 pm ET): Fitbit Challenges, Adventures, and open groups are long gone from the application.

What you need to have to know

  • Fitbit has announced it is eliminating troubles, adventures, and open groups from its application. 
  • These a few characteristics will continue to be offered until March 27. 
  • Fitbit verified buyers will nevertheless be in a position to develop non-public groups for competitions. 

It is been nearly 5 yrs, and only three decades considering the fact that the acquisition was finalized, but we are ultimately starting up to see particularly what we ended up frightened of immediately after Google acquired Fitbit. In a transfer that should really arrive as a surprise to certainly no one, Fitbit today introduced that it is eradicating even a lot more features from its app. 

In an e mail despatched to Fitbit customers, the business explains that adventures, open groups, and difficulties are currently being taken out from the application. This includes any trophies that you have acquired more than the yrs, through individuals extreme competitions with buddies.

(Graphic credit: Android Central)

The community component of Fitbit has often been really intriguing, as you could either spherical up a bunch of your pals to compete versus one yet another, or you could be part of a community team. As of March 27, you can only be capable to generate a “shut group,” and “connect with other end users in the Fitbit Group” through the Health and fitness & Wellness boards.

This is a further large blow to the Fitbit trustworthy, as Google looks articles with eradicating features and choices that assisted Fitbit develop into as common as it was. In a statement supplied to The Verge, Nicol Addison, head of communications at Fitbit and Nest stated “Fitbit identified that these

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Android 14’s regional preferences feature could tell apps to use your most popular calendar and selection method

Android 14 is testing a regional preferences monitor that lets you tell apps what temperature, calendar, working day of 7 days, and selection process to use.


Android 14 may well be introducing a new feature that could enable you inform apps forward of time what your regional preferences are so they can much better personalize your working experience.


Android is mounted on literally billions of equipment about the planet, so it is important that the system is sufficiently localized for all varieties of users. AOSP supports a lot of diverse languages out of the box, and applications can quickly specify what languages they help by supplying diverse source information. Many consumers are multilingual, on the other hand, so they may possibly want to use a person or extra applications in a sure language devoid of getting to alter the language program-extensive.

It wasn’t till Android 13, on the other hand, that these buyers could truly established language choices on a for each-app basis. That was a massive feature no doubt, but there is additional to take into account when it comes to localization, like the temperature models, calendar variety, initial working day of 7 days, and number program. Developers can derive what formats they must use based mostly on the locale that’s now established, of study course. For illustration, if the user sets their language to English (United States), then they’ll possibly want to see temperature models in Fahrenheit.

But what if the person is an American who not long ago moved to the United kingdom, or any place else that predominantly works by using Celsius, and they want to familiarize them selves with how the temperature operates in their new home? It is not usually proper to presume what formats a consumer wants to use, for the reason that

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