As reported by Laptop Mag (opens in new tab), these 203 malicious iOS and Android apps were first discovered by Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the UK's National Cyber Security Center (NCSC). apps were found to steal personal information, withdraw funds from users' bank accounts, remotely control infected smartphones, and be used for identity theft, DES decided to inform the public about these malicious apps on its Facebook page (opens in new tab)
The issue has become a problem.
The apps in question cover a wide range of categories, from chat apps to photo filters, custom keyboards, and PDF converters. What they all have in common, however, is the fact that when installed on smartphones, they contain malware and perform other malicious actions.
Neither DES nor NCSC shared additional information about which strains of malware these apps spread to vulnerable smartphones, only that they are dangerous. Both organizations are also working with Google and Apple to have these apps removed from their respective app stores. [Therefore, if you have any of these apps installed on your Android smartphone or iPhone, you need to remove them. Security researchers who have discovered large numbers of these malicious apps in the past have been able to distinguish which apps are for iOS and which are for Android, but not this time, so you need to examine the following list of apps yourself to see if any of them are trapped.
To save you the trouble of looking up DES Facebook posts, we have compiled a full list of 203 malicious apps below. If you have any of them installed on your smartphone or tablet, we strongly recommend that you remove them immediately.
The first thing you need to do to protect yourself from malicious apps is to be extremely careful when installing new software on your smartphone. Even apps downloaded from official app stores can be malicious. Therefore, before downloading anything, you should always first check the app reviews and ratings in the store. App reviews can be faked, so you should also look for external reviews on other sites and video reviews showing how the app works.
If you are using one of the best Android phones, you should make sure that Google Play Protect is enabled. At the same time, you can also install one of the best Android antivirus apps for added protection.
Despite Google and Apple's best efforts, malicious apps will likely continue to slip through its defenses. For this reason, you should keep in mind the old adage "If something seems too good to be true, it probably is." Apps that promise you can stream paid content for free or claim to be paid handsomely for your use are likely scams, and such apps should be avoided at all costs.
For your own security, it is worth sticking with popular apps from established companies rather than downloading apps from unproven developers.
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