Don’t use the Play Store access tool for Windows 11 - it is actually malware

Perhaps one of Windows 11’s most celebrated additions in its last update has been native support for Android apps. Many users, however, were left underwhelmed by the fact that access to many apps was in effect gated because Windows only allowed users to download from the Amazon Appstore. The latter has a significantly more limited pool of available apps.

Enter Powershell Windows Toolbox. In an effort to ostensibly address this, some opportunistic software developer(s) released a third-party tool on GitHub that enabled users to access the Google Play Store directly. This was not the only perk of the seemingly very useful bit of software - it could also activate MS Office, speed up your OS and had many other purported benefits. Ironically enough, it actually delivers on many of the bold promises it makes.

As with many things that are too good to be true, this also proved to be little more than an elaborate ruse. The caveat lies in the fact that the tool is in essence a Trojan-clicker, has been shown to execute malicious scripts once installed, and gathers sensitive information, like a user’s location. Needless to say, the malware in disguise spells a major security hazard for those that ended up using it.

Fortunately, the tool has since been removed from GitHub. For those that have already made the mistake of downloading it to their system, Bleeping Computer has an excellent guide on what steps to follow next to fix the problem.

On a less positive note, the Powershell Windows Toolbox is neither the first nor the last of its kind. Many users fall victim to malicious software that claims to have miraculous properties. Even following the most exhaustive list of measures (like keeping your antivirus program up to date and only downloading software from trusted sources) cannot guarantee full security. However, there is a general rule - there is only so much an application can do, especially when it comes free of charge.