Tag Archive for: delete

Three million+ Android users must delete these apps after Google left them lurking in the Play Store

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A horribly widespread new mobile security threat has been discovered and made public, and as much as Google might generally insist that it’s doing its best to keep your money and data protected, that’s definitely not what happened in this particular case.

Dubbed “Autolycos” by the cybersecurity expert who made the alarming but oh-so-familiar discovery more than a year ago (!!!), the virus acts in an insidious way reminiscent of the Joker malware that’s been regularly in the news for the last few years, stealing money from millions and millions of unsuspecting Android users.

The threat, the list, and the eye-popping numbers

Unfortunately, the number of potential Autolycos victims jumped in the millions as well as the months went by and Google did nothing to thwart this new fleecing scheme. Although the search giant was purportedly made aware of the existence of eight malicious apps in the official Play Store early on, it took roughly six months for six of these titles to disappear, with the final two only going away this Thursday.

While it’s impossible to know exactly how many users had their Android devices infected and their bank accounts drained as a direct result of Google’s tardiness in dealing with this situation, it feels safe to assume that the apps listed below would have never reached those impressive download figures if they were kicked out (much) earlier:
  • Vlog Star Video Editor – 1 million+
  • Creative 3D Launcher – 1 million+
  • Funny Camera – 500,000+
  • Wow Beauty Camera – 100,000+
  • Gif Emoji Keyboard – 100,000+
  • Razer Keyboard & Theme – 50,000+
  • Freeglow Camera 1.0.0 – 5,000+
  • Coco camera v1.1 – 1,000+

All in all, Evina’s Maxime Ingrao estimates this malware-spreading campaign impacted more than three million devices, subscribing the owners of said Androids to bogus “premium” services without their knowledge or authorization. Many of those users might still be paying for “subscriptions” they don’t want, need, or even have any idea about.

Protection is everything

As always, you are advised to check the list of apps installed on your phone or tablet and delete any and all titles confirmed as malicious on sight. For the future, you should be extra careful what you…

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Many new malicious Android apps crop up, delete them now before they steal your data and cash

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If you’ve downloaded an interesting-looking Android app from Google Play anytime in the last few weeks that for one reason or another felt… kind of sketchy, you might want to check out our latest list of malicious titles caught red-handed by various security researchers employing different data and money-stealing tricks.

While most of these have been promptly kicked out of the official Play Store, at least three apps are still available for new installations at the time of writing, including one that’s racked up over 50,000 downloads around the world, and perhaps more worryingly, a 4.8-star user rating average based on 900+ reviews.

The bulk of those reviews are most likely fabricated, mind you, with a number of others correctly identifying the app as a “fraud” or “total fake”, highlighting one of the easiest ways to avoid these types of dangers. But before elaborating on that, let’s break down the list promised above in two smaller lists.

Here are the newest malicious Android apps you need to get rid of

  • Document Manager
  • Coin track Loan – Online loan
  • Cool Caller Screen
  • PSD Auth Protector
  • RGB Emoji Keyboard
  • Camera Translator Pro

And these are some slightly older apps also discovered carrying malware

  • Fast PDF Scanner
  • Air Balloon Wallpaper
  • Colorful Messenger
  • Thug Photo Editor
  • Anime Wallpaper
  • Peace SMS
  • Happy Photo Collage
  • Original Messenger
  • Pellet Messages
  • Smart Keyboard
  • Special Photo Editor
  • 4K Wallpapers
Unless you’re extremely adventurous (read reckless) and you like to be among the first few people in the world to try out shady apps with features that are in no way special or unique, the chances of you finding any of these titles installed on your phones are microscopic.

 

Unfortunately, we can’t say the same about the first group, which includes at least three apps that managed to break into the five-digit Google Play download territory at one point or another. In theory, that puts tens of thousands if not more than 100,000 Android users in danger of having money, passwords, and other types of personal information stolen without mercy.

Their tricks are taken straight from “popular” Joker and Hydra playbooks, in case you’re wondering, collecting…

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How to delete the last 15 minutes of your Google search history on Android

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If you’ve been looking for a way to quickly delete the last 15 minutes of your Google search history on Android, your time has finally come. Jack Wallen shows you how to take care of this task.

search-engine.jpg
Image: ideyweb/Shutterstock

Your privacy should be at the top of your mind any time you pick up your mobile device. So much of what you do on your phone is retained, shared, used, and (in some cases) abused. And at any moment, someone could pick up your Android phone and view anything you’ve searched for.

SEE: Mobile Device Security Policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Imagine you could very easily delete the last 15 minutes from your Google search history. Say, for instance, you were searching for a new job just before talking to your boss who happened to get a glance (for whatever reason) of your search history.

Faux. Pas.

Fortunately, Android makes it fairly easy to erase those last 15 minutes from your search history. This is a feature that’s been available on iOS for some time. Good news, Android users. Google has started rolling out that feature to its own mobile platform, so all you have to do is tap a button to clear that search history.

And I’m going to show you how it’s done.

What you’ll need

In order to enjoy this feature, you’ll need an updated version of Android. This feature shouldn’t be limited only to Pixel devices or Android 12, but (as we all know) Google can be a bit hit-and-miss about releasing features. I’m demonstrating on a Pixel 6 Pro with Android 12. If you find your device doesn’t include the feature, wait until the next update hits and check back.

How to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history

With a supported device, all you have to do is open the Google app (tap Google from the App Drawer—Figure A).

Figure A

The Google app is found within the App Drawer.
The Google app is found within the App Drawer.

When you first open that app after the feature has been added, you’ll see a popup alert indicating you can clear the last 15 minutes of Search history with one tap (Figure B).

Figure B

The Google app running on a Pixel 6 Pro.
The Google app running on a Pixel 6 Pro.

Tap your profile pic at the top right of the window and a new pop-up will appear (Figure C).

Figure C

The Google app pop-up menu is where you can delete your last 15 minutes of search history.
The Google app…

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