A few years ago it was discovered that Android users had been hit with a strain of malware — which resulted in the scary scenario of them having their private data stolen in an effort to boost ad revenue, reports Wired. The attack was dubbed “Gooligan” and the culprit soon became clear: it attacked via an app.
It’s not so much one specific app that you should avoid downloading as it is the site from where you’ve downloaded it. The app that brought about malware issues was able to attack phones because users downloaded it outside of Google Play Store — a no no.
According to Wired: “Once downloaded, these apps may even seem normal (if a little janky) but they can spread ransomware or types of malware that exploit system vulnerabilities to steal data or take over a whole device. Don't want this drama on your phone? The key to protecting yourself is staying away from sketchy app stores, and only downloading software from Google Play.”
The free that Android provides can be an amazing perk — but it’s up to the user to be cautious and to never, ever download apps outside of the Google Play Store.
"Google Play automatically scans for potentially malicious apps as well as spammy accounts before they are published on the Google Play Store," Google said in a statement to WIRED. "We also introduced a proactive app review process to catch policy offenders earlier in the process and rely on the community of users and developers to flag apps for additional review."