28 harmful applications that need to be immediately removed from your smartphone

HUMAN, a security research company headquartered in New York, USA, has just discovered 28 applications containing malicious code, specifically for Android users. These applications are made in the name of useful applications to deceive users when installing.

Of these 28 apps, 17 pretend to be VPN (Virtual Private Network) tools, with ads that help users browse more securely and hide personal information on the internet.

The malicious code discovered in these applications is called ProxyLib. This type of malicious code was discovered by the research company in May 2023 and then continued to discover 28 other applications containing this type of malicious code, which are being publicly distributed to users.

Unlucky users who install applications containing ProxyLib malware may be at risk of hackers using their devices for criminal purposes such as ad fraud, spamming, and participating in cyberattacks. denial of service (DDoS), or even automatic login password detection without even knowing it.

These malicious applications are designed to run in the background on users' phones, not only to perform hidden operations but also to access websites without the user's knowledge. This behavior not only threatens user privacy but also significantly affects the device's battery life.

It is worth noting that these applications have bypassed Google's censorship system and are distributed directly on the CH Play app store for the Android platform. This raises a serious problem about Google's censorship process before allowing applications to appear on CH Play.

HUMAN sent notice of its findings to Google. Currently, all 28 applications containing malicious code have been removed by Google from the CH Play app store. However, before these applications were removed, there were applications that reached more than 1 million downloads. This indicates that many users have accidentally installed applications containing malicious code without knowing it, putting them at serious risk of information security and personal privacy.

Below is a list of 28 applications containing malicious code recently discovered by HUMAN. If you have installed one of these applications, immediately remove it from your device.

1. 1. Lite VPN
2. 2. Anims Keyboard
3. 3. Blaze Stride
4. 4. Byte Blade VPN
5. 5. Android 12 Launcher
6. 6. Android 13 Launcher
7. 7. Android 14 Launcher
8. 8. CaptainDroid Feeds
9. 9. Free Old Classic Movies
10. 10. Phone Comparison
11. 11. Fast Fly VPN
12. 12. Fast Fox VPN
13. 13. Fast Line VPN
14. 14. Funny Char Ging Animation
15. 15. Limo Edges
16. 16. Oko VPN
17. 17. Phone App Launcher
18. 18. Quick Flow VPN
19. 19. Sample VPN
20. 20. Secure Thunder
21. 21. Shine Secure
22. 22. Speed ​​Surf
23. 23. Swift Shield VPN
24. 24. Turbo Track VPN
25. 25. Turbo Tunnel VPN
26. 26. Yellow Flash VPN
27. 27. VPN Ultra
28. 28. Run VPN

Micah Soto

Update 04 April 2024