Potentially dangerous apps are distributed by Samsung’s own app store, according to researchers.
At least five apps have been found that are harmful to your smartphone. It concerns imitators of the Showbox app, reports Max Weinbach of Android Police on Twitter. The original Showbox app, with which you can stream movies and series, no longer exists.
The fake apps themselves do not harm your smartphone, but they are used as an access hatch for more serious malware.
Risks of the Galaxy Store
In conversation with Android Police tells researcher ‘Linuxct’ how the apps work. They have the ability to perform dynamic code execution on a smartphone. This causes the apps to download and install potentially malicious data.
“There are very few legitimate uses for this method,” says the researcher. “It can be easily weaponized, so that’s probably the original purpose of the apps. The software can just change to a trojan or malware, which is why it is unsafe.”
The good news is that Google Play Protect, a mobile antivirus that scans apps, will warn you when you try to download one of the apps. The bad news is that because the apps are on Samsung’s Galaxy Store, the warning is easy to ignore. The apps have hundreds of reviews and possibly hundreds of downloads.
According to Android Police, the malicious apps are all imitators of Showbox, an illegal streaming app that has been out of action for two years.
