Millions Of Smartphones And Tablets May Have Been Infected With Android Malware

(RTTNews) - Android users are in for a shock as a new malware may have already infected more than ten million smartphones and tablets, according to antivirus software specialist Avast. The new form of malware has been found on a number of popular apps that were downloaded from Google Play Store.

The malware is present in several apps in the Google Play Store across a number of countries. These apps have also been downloaded a million times.

The most prominent of these infected apps is the free version of card game called Durak, which has attracted nearly 10 million downloads.

Google has already removed three apps from its Google Play Store after they were reported to have been infected by the malware, including Durak. Users have posted warnings on the Google Play regarding Durak as early as November 2013 that they suspected it was forcing pop-up ads to appear.

The other two apps removed are Russian-language IQ test app and Russian history app, which have been downloaded 5 million times and 50,000 times, respectively.

The malware is in the form of an adware that remains dormant initially after the download, but then undesirable ads start popping up each time you unlock the phone or tablet.

The ads warn the user of problems such as that your device is infected, out of date or full of porn, and prompts further action for being re-directed to fake pages, dubious app stores and apps for a solution. These may lead to an investment into unwanted apps from untrusted sources.

Google has warned that there may be more such malware infected apps on the official Google Play store.