If you have an iPhone, you can rest a little easier knowing that Apple vets apps well and tends to do a good job of keeping potentially risky and malicious apps out of the App Store. But Android users, who get to enjoy a level of freedom when it comes to personalizing their phones, also are generally more at risk for viruses and hacking because app makers with bad intentions can more readily bypass their security systems and are available for downloading through third-party sources.
Whatever platform you choose, it’s important to read reviews and ratings for any app that you download and to be cautious. One wrong move (and one malicious app downloaded) and you could find yourself dealing with a hacking and your data being stolen. Tech experts caution to stay away from these six malicious apps.
SuperVPN
When this free VPN app recently suffered a breach, 360 million user records were leaked — that includes IP addresses, geolocation records, and email addresses. SuperVPN was available on both the Google Play store and Apple App Store (it has since been removed) and has been found to have developers who are connected to the Chinese government. If you still happen to have this app on your phone, make sure you delete it.
Noizz
This popular video editor with music app on the Google Play store has 100 million downloads. But it has been found to contain malicious software that can compromise your device — and it’s not worth the risk.
Fake ChatGPT
Thanks to the popularity of ChatGPT it seemed inevitable that imposter apps would pop up and some could carry malicious code. Be very care of fake Open AI/ChatGPT apps that are cropping up on both Google Play and the App Store. Often they look just like the real thing, but can contain something called fleeceware that tries and gets you to empty your wallet on their services.
Essential Horoscope for Android
Horoscope apps can be harmless fun. But, in the case of Essential Horoscope for Android, the app had 100,000 downloads on Google Play before it was found to contain a malware called Xamarin. It has since been removed from the store, but if you still have it on your phone, delete it ASAP.
3D Skin Editor for PE Minecraft
Similar to Essential Horoscope, this app was another offering on Google Play that racked up 100,000 downloads, but has since been found to contain the malicious Xamarin malware that can eventually take full control of your device. It has also been removed from the store, but check to make sure it’s not still on your phone.
UC Browser
UC Browser is a web browser that is only available on Android. Developed by UCWeb, which is a subsidiary of Chinese company Alibaba, the app does not adequately protect its data transmissions, according to cybersecurity experts. This can leave your data vulnerable to hackers and attacks. It’s important to use browsers that are sufficiently encrypted — and this isn’t one of those apps. Delete it for your own protection.
