These 22 malicious apps were removed in the last few days of November.

A well-organized and persistent malware known as “Andr/Clickr” has the potential to cause serious harm to the end users, as well as the entire Android system. The apps which apparently clicked on fraudulent ads without the knowledge of the users were active even when it was force-closed which further led the apps to drain the phone’s battery and cause data overages.

This is not actually the first time the Play Store has experienced something like this. Last month Google removed around 13 apps from the Play Store because they were found to be installing malware on user’s devices. Many users have downloaded these apps which include truck stimulator, luxury car driving stimulator and many more.

It’s about the last year that Google was held responsible for the spread of auto-clicking adware to as many as 36 million mobile devices.

Google gave a statement a few days back that it takes deceptive and malicious behaviour on the platform very seriously. The statement was released after Google removed Kika and CM File manager from the Play Store for deceptive behaviour.

What is more disturbing about the situation is that these apps have been downloaded on over two million instances, signifying that a large number of users were targeted by the malware. A single app- Sparkle Flashlight was responsible for over one million downloads alone, and was listed much earlier than the other apps.  

After Sophos reported the malicious apps to Google, the company immediately removed those apps from the Play Store. However, it is still not clear that if it also removed from the user’s phones on which these apps are installed. Google can directly remove the apps from the people’s phone if they downloaded the apps through the Play Store and if they are logged in as well as connected to their Play Store account.

If you have any of the below-listed apps in your device, please remove it immediately in order to get away with any malware.

The list includes some of the popular apps like Sparkle Flashlight with one million or over downloads.

Below are the 22 apps that you should not have in your phone. Please check these out as it’s very crucial.

1. Sparkle Flashlight
2. Snake Attack
3. Math Solver
4. Shapesorter
5. Take a Trip
6. Magnifeye
7. Join Up
8. Zombie Killer
9. Space Rocket
10. Neon Pong
11. Just Falshlight
12. Table Soccer
13. Cliff Driver
14. Box Stack
15. Jelly Slice
16. AK Blackjack
17. Color Tiles
18. Anika Match
19. Roulette Mania
20. Hexafall
21. Hexablocks
22. Pairzap

These apps were deemed malicious and had a backdoor built into them that helped these apps in doing ad frauds. So, if you have any of these apps still in your devices, please get rid of it.

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Get Started with Friendly Pix

Friendly Pix is currently available on iOS and web app. Those who have androids can access it via browsers like Chrome or Firefox. The demo app is a cloned version of Instagram where you can upload images and share those using captions and hashtags. You can also follow people and other trends.

Meanwhile, a disclaimer on the web app reiterated the following:

“This is a sample application aimed at showcasing the Firebase platform capabilities. Avoid posting personal or private data.”

However, the application is fully functioning as it supports signing up with Google or Facebook to create a profile and upload photos. You can also like and comment on posts, as well as report the posts.

Despite its intended test nature, it seems that a handful of users from around the world have found the app and have started using it. Even I have logged in the app via Chrome on my phone. Also, I did see many people uploading photos with captions and others have started following as well.

It is actually not clear the intended use of the app whether it is for social networking or some other purpose. Nevertheless, Friendly Pix seem to be amusing as it is really simple and easy to use.

The whole idea behind releasing the app is to show that Firebase is actually a platform worth to consider for developers. So, if you want to have a look at the app and use it, simply click the link below. You can register your account, upload, and share photos and start following others. But just keep in mind not post anything that’s personal as Google has mentioned.

Start sharing your photos here https://friendly-pix.com/

Also read this 9 Amazing Things You Can Do With Google

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Instant Pre-approved Loans…

The tech giant in order to support the development has also partnered with four Indian banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Federal Bank to offer instant, pre-approved loans to customers through the Google Pay in seconds. In the event, Google made many announcements (other than renamed Google Tez). These announcements were related to other Google products like Google Assistant, Google Search, Android Go, Google Go, Google Maps, Google Station, and more.

Google launched its Google Tez in September last year. It serves lives of more than 22 Million people and businesses every month. People from over 300,000 suburbs, towns, and villages use it to pay for their electrician, book bus rides, or split a dinner bill with friends. The company also announced that 22 million people now use Tez every month. After its launch in September last year, a total of approx 750 million transactions have  made so far.

Working of Google Pay

Google Tez is a UPI-based payment platform. With the lack of NFC-based mobile payment solutions in the country, Google opted not to launch Google Pay in India. Instead of this, Google launched a UPI-based mobile payment system which is different from NFC-based payment systems. Tez has achieved a certain degree of success in India. In March, Tez had added a chat feature allowing users to communicate with their contacts while sending and receiving money.

According to Caesar Sengupta, ”Google Pay will soon offer deeper integration with Indian apps, single-click transactions”. Caesar Sengupta is Vice President of Product Management at Google.

Meanwhile, It will continue to offer instant mobile recharges, gifting options like a birthday gift, as well as promotional coupons that vary with different payments. Currently, Google Pay have around 22 million users in India. Google has claimed that over 750 million transactions have been completed since the app’s launch in September last year.

Along with other old features, Google has added certain new features which include the following:

• Google Pay will allow online payments on applications, websites, and branded retail stores. Consumers can use GPay on many sites or apps like redBus, Freshmenu, Goibibo and many more partners for transactions currently.
• The company will also do deeper integrations with BookMyShow in future. In coming days, Google Pay will also support payments at  retail stores like Big Bazaar, e-Zone, and FBB.
• Google Pay will also be working on building a dedicated merchant experience to help small business grow. It will help companies/ individuals in getting discovered through Google Search and Maps, and ensuring communication through messages and offers.
• Customers will be able to use this App to take customised loan amounts from their banks with minimal paperwork.  Banks will deposit loan amount securely and instantly into their banks account.

Google also stated that over time, the company will bring many India-specific Tez features to Google Pay users in other countries just as the country has brought features launched elsewhere to India. For more details about Google Pay, visit there official website.

Google Pay is available for both Android & iOS devices. You can download it from App Store & Play Store for your mobile or tab.

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