Android users, remove these four apps from your smartphone right now!

What are the app names?

The blog post lists out four apps that are bugged with trojan malware. These are:

– Bluetooth Auto Connect

– Bluetooth App Sender

– Driver: Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi

-Mobile Transfer: smart switch

As per the blog post, together these apps have amassed more than one million downloads. It says that older versions of these apps have already been detected in the past as different variants of Android/Trojan.HiddenAds. However, the developer – Mobile apps Group is still listed on Google Play Store dispensing its latest HiddenAds malware.

How do these apps work?

MalwareBytes in its blog post explains that these apps remain hidden before they begin showing malware behavior. Although delaying malicious behavior is a common tactic to evade detection by malware developers, these apps use delays quite a bit.

The blog post states that after initial delay, these apps open phishing sites in Chrome browser. However, the content of these phishing websites varies. While some are harmless that are used to produce pay-per-click, others are dangerous sites that can be used to trick users. For instance, one site includes adult content that leads to phishing pages that tell the user they’ve been infected, or need to perform an update.

What is more worrisome is that the Chrome tabs keep running in the background even while the mobile device is locked. When the user unlocks their device, Chrome opens with the latest site, the blog post reads.

It is advisable that users remove these apps from their smartphones if they have installed either of them. Also, one should always check the app permissions and developers information before downloading them.