Is your phone at risk of being infected with adware thanks to one of these apps? -[AndroidTutor2018]

AndroidTutor2018- Not too long ago, security researchers unmasked several game apps in the Google Play Store that were just a front for insidious adware. At the time, the researches didn't list the relevant apps (which had apparently already infected somewhere between 5 -18 million smartphones), but now we've got a clearer picture of which apps we should avoid or uninstall. Interestingly enough, the majority of apps have a common trait - the name Judy.

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Profit-driven malware developers have managed to create their own money printing machine in the Google Play Store, and it's all thanks to a simple update. 41 apps from the Korean developer Kiniwini - which are available in the Play Store under the ENISTUDIO corp brand - were updated with adware code. It's still unclear whether the company did this deliberately or if one of the developers (ab)used their position to insert the code. What is certain thought is that the apps had been available for download for quite some time, and only recently (and almost simultaneously) received the malicious code per update. The oldest updates date back to April 2016, which makes both the scope and duration of the attack unclear.

An adware infected app hiding behind a 4.2 star rating / © Checkpoint
The security researchers from Checkpoint were also able to identify the same malware in other third-party apps, increasing the potential spread of infected users up to 36.5 million. In the meantime, all Judy apps have been banned from the Play Store, but if you are using one of the following apps on your device, you should uninstall them now.
Fashion Judy: Snow Queen style
Animal Judy: Persian cat care
Fashion Judy: Pretty rapper

Fashion Judy: Teacher style
Animal Judy: Dragon care
Chef Judy: Halloween Cookies
Fashion Judy: Wedding Party
Animal Judy: Teddy Bear care
Fashion Judy: Bunny Girl Style
Fashion Judy: Frozen Princess
Chef Judy: Triangular Kimbap
Chef Judy: Udong Maker – Cook
Fashion Judy: Uniform style
Animal Judy: Rabbit care
Fashion Judy: Vampire style
Animal Judy: Nine-Tailed Fox
Chef Judy: Jelly Maker – Cook
Chef Judy: Chicken Maker
Animal Judy: Sea otter care
Animal Judy: Elephant care
Judy’s Happy House
Chef Judy: Hotdog Maker – Cook
Chef Judy: Birthday Food Maker
Fashion Judy: Wedding day
Fashion Judy: Waitress style
Chef Judy: Character Lunch
Chef Judy: Picnic Lunch Maker
Animal Judy: Rudolph care
Judy’s Hospital:pediatrics
Fashion Judy: Country style
Animal Judy: Feral Cat care
Fashion Judy: Twice Style
Fashion Judy: Myth Style
Animal Judy: Fennec Fox care
Animal Judy: Dog care
Fashion Judy: Couple Style
Animal Judy: Cat care
Fashion Judy: Halloween style
Fashion Judy: EXO Style
Chef Judy: Dalgona Maker
Chef Judy: ServiceStation Food
Judy’s Spa Salon
커플디데이 (커플기념일, 위젯)
Dog Music (Relax)
카카오톡 대화분석기
황금기 알리미 (여성달력)
100억 가계부
KatocPic(카톡픽) – 카톡프로필
필수추천 무료어플 77
Spring-It’s stylish, it’s sexy
Crafting Guide for Minecraft
The adware managed to secretly bypass "Bouncer" - Google's Play Store protection mechanism. All of the technical details and an overview of the code is explained in a Checkpoint blogpost. What the "infected" app does is quite simple - it loads and clicks visible (and hidden in the background) ad banners. Those banner impressions and clicks then give the adware author a nice boost in illegitimate sales. Another unpleasant side effect is that the original app, which might have been useful in the beginning, now becomes unusable and leaches off your mobile data.
Opinion by Eric Ferrari-HerrmannJust because an App has good ratings doesn't mean the App is actually any good
What do you think?
5050119 participants

The fact that the apps continued to maintain their strong ratings in the Play Store can also be attributed to the skill of adware creators. Often, users are forced to give five-star ratings in apps in order to continue using them or they are tricked into giving ratings by other means.
Users of Android smartphones are hardly able to defend themselves against such spontaneous attacks. Anti-malware apps can only advise against installing an app, but they do not remove malware or prevent its installation due to system restrictions. Real protection is only done at the kernel level, and this is only happens with the (infrequent) system updates.
Have you been affected by this adware issue? Let us know in the comments below.
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6 Steven Rhods 4 months ago Link to comment
Thanks for sharing this list. Now I wouldn't going to install any app that has "Judy" in it's name.
1 Georg Seebode
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6 Tech Mate 4 months ago Link to comment
Finally, only androidpit had the common sense to list the apps.
1 Georg Seebode
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16 Reg Joo 4 months ago Link to comment
Thanks for listing these apps, heard about this in another article, but no apps were listed.
1 Georg Seebode
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