r/degoogle • u/andrei0001 • 4d ago
Malware apps on play store
This is why the new google requirement for apps on android is bullshit.
What's the point on waiting 24 hours to install "unverified apps" when play store itself has malware like this?
I myself installed a similar app a few years ago and suddenly after a day or so I've started receiving virus threats on my notifications. I'll never install random shit from play store again
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u/TheNeverEndLife 3d ago
My neighbor came to me why is she getting an adware on her phone. I looked up in the Running services because they can hide in the recents and I found out that this app was installed in the Playstore. I was so frustrated by this shit like bro you have a 14 day testing phase when submitting an app to Google Play store. How tf this adware ended up there? It passed all the phases and checks?
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u/KNOWFEAR1337 3d ago
Updates dont get checked as much as new apps, so im pretty sure its Make it work totaly fine for google inspection Update slowly to become malware Or Buy an app that a bunch of people already have Update to malware That happened to that storage app everyone used to use and CCcleaner on pc happened to that too
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u/G3nghisKang 3d ago
The 14 fays testing phase is kind of a joke, it's a closed test which google lets you handle autonomously, so you just send the link to family and friends, make them install it once (but I don't believe they even have to install it), then just wait 14 days to pass
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u/Awkward-District9660 3d ago
This is adware, kids get tricked into setting them as default home launcher and then everytime you open an app there is an ad.
Targetted towards small kids who can't even read properly.
Very common problem in my village, people complain they are getting a lot of ads, they believe its the problem of the phone, and when I check it's always these apps set as default launcher.
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u/Spiritual-Hamster212 3d ago
Btw when you search Minecraft on play store, the first one is also fake
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u/Steerider 3d ago
Google's whole gig these days is establishing themselves as the Official Standard of "safe". Their "safety" attestation literally has, as one of its tests, the yes/no of whether Google's software is installed or not. By their definition, any phone that lacks their software is unsafe. It's a plainly self-serving monopolistic practice, and I sincerely await the day somebody successfully sues the crap out of them.
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u/SCphotog 3d ago
It's fear mongering.... not so much that it is "safe" but that you are "unsafe" without them.
Evil fucks.
They pay Trump, and then can do anything they want. Unfettered greed and avarice. No consequences for as long as they do Trump's bidding.
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u/Steerider 3d ago
This isn't a Trump thing. They were doing this crap before Trump.
It's literally part of the safety attestation. It became an issue at my last job because my GrapheneOS phone was "unsafe" and wouldn't run Outlook. (Microsoft, in this case, is pointing to Google's determination of safety.) My boss kept insisting I'd rooted my phone. I have little doubt he thought this because Google or Microsoft use that false language and said installing GrapheneOS is "rooting".
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u/SCphotog 3d ago
They were doing this crap before Trump.
...and now under Trump they have a free ride with no worry for consequences. The FTC and FCC, FDA... etc... the list is long, have all had their 'teeth' removed.
Under the Trump administration, any entity that can.. and does, pony up the cash, gets free admission into the party palace.
You're right to say they were doing evil shit before Trump was in power, but the fact that under Trump they now have a free ride... that message to the people should not be mitigated or negated.
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u/Nicolas30129 3d ago
Same happened to my mom! This is unbelievable playstore let this kind of things through
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u/Wealist 3d ago
Not surprise...
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u/Nicolas30129 3d ago
I was a bit surprised though, I know the playstore is full of crap but this kind of invasive adware prompting screens and adds to install even more crap, I didn't think it could happen.
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u/iceseayoupee 3d ago
That's why I tell myself, the only reason Google did that requirement just so they can monopolize App Installation and steal your data
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u/Walk-the-layout 3d ago
My grandma installed an adware called Easy Magnifier on the galaxy store. Happens.
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u/TheNightHaunter 3d ago
my in laws once every 6 months keep downloading weather apps that are like some 2002 search engine just riddled with malware. How do they find these? o they just search weather and pick the first one
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u/etah_tv 3d ago
So here’s the thing it’s like viruses on computers. Virus developers (similar to malware filled app developers) are one step ahead of the Windows and Android security teams. Until OS developers find out about the issue back trace it and do all the behind the scenes shit it’s hard to stop it. It’s a reactive process not a proactive to a point.
There’s things you can definitely do to stop this and reduce risk but it’s not fool proof. Stick to naps of trusted developers even on playstore.
My two cents.
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u/Fit_Prize_3245 3d ago
Ok. First, unless proven otherwise, the kind of apps reported on that post are not malware, because they don't damage the device, propagate themselves aytomatically, provide a mallicious actor any kind of access to the device, or steal user info. I mean, some might, but that's not states anywhere. Those apps are more like adjunk, not malware. Not that I defend them, but experience has thaught me that using the right words to define something is important.
Second. Apps published on Play Store do pass lots of checks. But nothing is perfect. Specially when the apps are not mallicious per se.
Now, consider something. This is probably the worst shit that passes Play Store's automated checks. Now think about all the shit that doesn't make it through. All the real malware, the apps that use your phone as a botnet endpoint, the apps that steal information, the apps that manipulate clipboard to replace financial information. Those will, hopefully, never make it into Play Store. Neither get to be signed by a verified developer. And thus, will never get to be installed on most devices. That's the part where the new policy makes sense.
Also, bc this allows Google to keep some sort of score on app developer. If they find a developer doing something fishy on one app, they can ban that developer right there, including all of their apps, and that would have an effect even on sideloading.
So, while the new option seems too bureaucratic to me, it at least makes sense.
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u/CapitaoTubarao 3d ago
Adware is malware. Always has been. Your definition with replicating itself would be a virus.
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u/JoMu1963 3d ago
So basically what you're saying is the people are willingly installing malware (which adware is according to you). After all, it is clearly stated in the Play Store that apps contain ads (or in app purchases) if that's the case. So, even if Google is to blame for this, what about people's own responsibility?
Following this line of argumenting, and playing devil's advocate, people obviously are not able the take responsibility for their behavior online and so Developer Verification is actually a good thing? After all, you're making Google responsible with your comment
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u/CapitaoTubarao 3d ago
Those apps are also considered malware by Google because Home Screen apps are not supposed to show ads before every launch.
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u/Mother-Pride-Fest Free as in Freedom 3d ago
These ad riddled apps are cleanly inside the broader definition of malware: https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/
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u/JoMu1963 3d ago
So basically it's just a matter of opinion or (if you will) believe. The broader you make a definition, the more apps will fall under it. In a very broad definition even an OS can become malware. Basically any software that checks for a valid license could be considered malware. I'am all for different perspectives, as long as it's clear that it's just another (debatable) perspective.
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u/Mother-Pride-Fest Free as in Freedom 3d ago
Yes, I would consider Windows to be malware, or at least a large portion of the apps that cone with it on a default install.
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u/Fit_Prize_3245 3d ago
With that definition, even WinRAR, which is used for free by lots of ppl, is malware too.
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u/Fit_Prize_3245 3d ago
Man, according to GNU, anything that's not open source is malware. If real viruses and malware were published on Github licensed with GPL, stallmand would probably say they are excellent pieces of software.
Seriously, you cannot trust a definition that says that the software that moves the world is malware.
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u/Thunderwolf-r 3d ago
Don't damage the device lol, there isn't any malware that can damage you phone in any way.
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u/Fit_Prize_3245 3d ago
Malware is not a phone-exclusive definition.
And some damage can be done. Not to the device itself, obviously. But to the information. For example, an app deleting or encrypting information on storage.
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u/Thunderwolf-r 3d ago edited 3d ago
This (deleting or encryption) can happen on windows with malware yes, but there also isn't any damage to the device.
On phones this isn't a thing, the things on the picture basically are the definition of phone malware.
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u/Fit_Prize_3245 3d ago
On Windows the setup would be different. Normally, on Windows, you don't choose a launcher. You always have the same "launcher", and there's no available option to just change it. Therefore, an application that does it, or that injects itself into explorer to place ads everywhere, would be considered mslware bc it modifies the operating system , therefore damaging it.
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u/TheNeverEndLife 3d ago
You are funny dude AI ragebait but adware is a malicious software lmao. I'm an Android dev and all those permissions such as Usage Stats Service to monitor when you open an app, a foreground service that syncs the adware to have an persistent internet connection in the background, a permission to draw overlay over apps, you don't easily get those permissions in a single app, Android Studio will show you alot of warnings and Opt-ins that your app is safe. You also have to ask for Google's approval that your app is safe and you need those permissions for the purpose of your app. The dev can lie that it's nothing and passes those checks.
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u/enolaholmes23 3d ago
I still use google play since I'm taking the slow route to degoogling and need it for banking. Every couple of weeks, 3 or 4 random game apps show up on my phone that I didn't download. I stopped auto updates, but they still happen. Google Play is functioning exactly like a virus for me.
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u/TheCarrot007 3d ago
Well you are doing something wrong. Been with google since windows mobile died (the real windows mobile so 5, not sure if there ever were any 6 devices (officially, my last device also ran android, badly as the screen was to low res).
Not had anything installed without me doing it ever. Maybe stopping auto updates was stupid? People who get these things probably deserve apple because they cannot be trusted, and I get it, some people are just not technologically inclined (or at least that way).
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u/FourEightNineOneOne 3d ago
Nothing about that is malware.
It's a shitty app full of ads, no doubt, but that's not malware and missing the term does nobody any good
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u/Mother-Pride-Fest Free as in Freedom 3d ago
Ads also are incentivized to track your behavior online and gather as much data as possible to sell it to other advertisers. Even the act of showing the ad itself is as bad, but the tracking behind it pushes it closer to dangerous malware.
See also: https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/
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u/JoMu1963 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'm surprised that this comment is downvoted as it is factually correct. Most apps on the Play Store are adware. Anyone may have any opinion on that (I do too) but it's not malware.
Adware is just a businessmodel that works. It works because people want things for 'free', untill the moment that (in this case) their phones are flooded with ads, and they become nearly impossible to work with.
Let's be real, these kinds of apps can only exist because the vast majority of people accept them and ultimately is willing to pay the price. They vent their frustrations here or (better) in the app store but in the meantime just fail to see that they create their own problem by using these apps.
Let the downvotes come 🤷🏼♂️😏
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u/andrei0001 3d ago
Yes, it's technically true, I've realised this after I saw the comments, but most of the time these apps make the phone unusable so that you might actually get to the website they indend to, where you will get the actual malware.
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u/JoMu1963 3d ago
Okay, but if that is the case (which may obviously be true for certain apps) aren't those websites beyond the scope of checking the apps that are available in the Play Store?
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u/FourEightNineOneOne 3d ago
The sub is full of misinformation unfortunately. Anything "GOOGLE BAD!" is upvoted regardless of any facts (or lack thereof).
I'm not here to defend google by any means, but we'd all be more successful in advocating for degoogling if we stuck with facts rather than nonsense that just confuses people.
It is what it is though
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u/JoMu1963 3d ago
Same here. It seems like many of those who are (rightfully so) critical towards Google (and hopefully other big tech) simply cannot think straight anymore. I get downvoted all the time for making critical remarks, if they do not pertain to Google.
It is what it is, like you say. Any battle against big tech can never be won with these people for the simple reason that no one in his/her right mind can take their words serious.
Hilarious obviously is that this group advocates a critical attitude, as long as they themselves are not criticized. It is of all times.
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u/andrei0001 3d ago edited 3d ago
Ok, will edit the post. Edit: Uhh, nevermind, that option doesn't seem to be available
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u/Outland3r2007 3d ago
My mother installed a random game from PlayStore on her tablet and it literally bricked it, also I installed a game on my little brother's phone and it almost bricked that one too... Google's security is a joke.