Stop what you're doing and delete these Android apps before they bombard your phone with ads
Although spring is obviously not here yet, the time to do a little (digital) cleaning may have already arrived, at least for Android users with a habit of installing many different apps across all kinds of categories on their mobile devices, often sans researching their real-life utility and reliability very thoroughly.
Yes, ladies and gents, the latest collection of apps deemed malicious by a well-known group of cybersecurity experts has been made public earlier this week, including a staggering 164 (!!!) titles that you need to identify and get rid of as soon as possible.
For its part, Google seems to have actually done its job for a change, booting each and every app labeled as mischievous by the White Ops Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team in its newest comprehensive report off the official Play Store prior to the release of said report. That means the "CopyCatz" gang should pose no danger whatsoever to new users, but at the same time, those who contributed to these apps amassing a combined 10+ million downloads can't afford to relax just yet.
How worried should you be?
As always, if you're careful about your pre-installation vetting process for all apps downloaded from Google Play, you're unlikely to have fallen victim to this rather simple and straightforward cyber-attack.
The good news is that even if you're not incredibly diligent about your Play Store browsing activities, this particular threat is nowhere near as serious as some of the other malware-spreading campaigns we brought to your attention in the past.
This is just an example of an obvious malicious clone of a legit popular Android app
As the unnecessarily catchy "CopyCatz" moniker suggests, these apps carry (or rather used to carry) extremely similar names and descriptions to various popular Android tools, services, and games, fooling users into thinking they would deliver goods like privacy protection, advanced photo editing capabilities, battery enhancing functionality, call recording, or ironically, antivirus features when in fact their only goal was to push unauthorized, out-of-context ads.
While that's definitely not as bad as trying to outright steal your hard-earned money and there's no evidence the unsolicited ads could get so intrusive as to render your phone unusable, it can obviously become very annoying very fast to have to close an app that displays ad after ad instead of fulfilling its promised tasks.
In short, you're probably in no real danger of having your personal info stolen or anything like that if you decide to ignore today's recommendation and keep any of the apps listed below on your phone. But if you hate ads as much as the next guy, you should absolutely delete these apps ASAP and be careful to download the legit Assistive Touch, AppLock, and Photo Editor Pro titles next time instead of their cheap, malicious clones.
Delete, delete, delete
Without further ado, here is the full and frankly astonishing list of titles you need to uninstall if you want to get rid of pesky ads and possibly speed up your phone in the process. These are ordered alphabetically, with duplicates eliminated and a few missing names you could be able to identify by visiting the White Ops website and examining the app IDs at the end.
- 100 mb Internet Speed Test - Broadband Speed Test
- 2 Ways Call Recorder Automatic, Record Phone Calls
- 3D Awesome Frame Effects
- 3D Photo Editor
- 3D Photo Frames Effects & 3D Art Photo Maker
- 3D Tattoo Photo Editor & Ideas
- Animals Sound Ringtones Real Free
- Anti WannaCry Virus - Android
- Antivirus - Virus Remover
- Antivirus 2017
- Antivirus 2017 & Cleaner
- Antivirus 2020, Cleaner & Booster
- Antivirus For Android
- Antivirus Pro 2017
- Applock 2020 - App Locker & privacy guard
- AppLock New 2019 – Privacy Zone & Lock your apps
- Assistive Touch 2018
- Assistive Touch 2020
- Audio Video Editor
- Audio Video Editor Mixer 2019 - Video Cutter
- Audio Video Mixer
- AV Antivirus 2017
- Battery Doctor - Power Battery 2018
- Battery Doctor 2018 - Fast Charger
- Battery Saver - Fast Charging
- Battery Saver - Saving Battry
- Battery Saver Pro
- Battery Saver Pro 2020 - New Power Saver
- BeanPro Antivirus
- Big Front - Change Front Size
- Block Puzzle 102: New Tentris Mania
- boost clean (junk cleaner pro)
- Calculator
- Call Block Blacklist and Block SMS Easy
- Call Recorder For Android
- Chinese Chess
- Chronometer
- Clean My Android - Antivirus
- cleaner booster -ultra security-
- Collage Maker
- Control Center IOS 12 - Phone X Control Center
- Cool Master -CPU Device Cooler
- Disk-clean-suite
- DJ Mixer Studio 2018
- Don't Stop Eighth Note
- Don't Stop Eighth Note 2
- Don't Stop Eighth Note Zombie
- Eighth Note
- Eighth Note V2
- Eighth Note: Yasuhati
- Fast Charger - Dr Battery 2017
- Feeding Fish
- Followers - Unfollowers For Insta
- free antivirus
- Free Antivirus-Mobile Security
- Free VPN Proxy - Unlimited VPN & Wifi Security
- Get Followers Up 2019
- Get Followers Up 2020
- GPS Navigation
- GPS Speedometer
- Graffiti Photo Editor - Graffiti Creator
- Holy Bible
- How Fast is My Internet - High Internet Speed Test
- Internet Speed Check 2019
- Internet Speed Test
- Internet Speed Test APK
- Internet Speed Test Free
- Internet speedmeter check
- iSwipe Phone X
- K-Lock gallery picture & video
- Learn Excel 2019
- Learn Play Piano - Pianist
- Lich Van Nien 2017
- Lịch Vạn Niên 2018 - Lịch Âm 2018
- Lion Antivirus 2017
- Lock app with Password - Applock All App Protector
- loudest alarm clock ever
- Loudest Volume Booster
- Love days counter
- Lovedays Memory 2020 - Love Counter Together
- Magnifier Zoom + Flashlight
- Male To Female Voice Changer
- Master Sudoku Offline Free 2018
- Max Cleaner - Booster, Optimizer, Super Cleaner
- Max Cleaner - Speed Booster Pro 2021
- Memory Cleaner 2020
- Milab Music Player - All format audio files
- Mine Sweep - Free Miner Game
- Motocross Racing 2018
- Mp3 cutter – Video Cutter, Easy Ringtone Maker
- MP3Cutter & Ringtone Maker 2020
- Name Art Photo Editor
- New Full Battery Saver - Battery Manager & Cleaner
- Night Mode
- Nox Cool Master - Cool Down 2020
- Old Phone Ringtones
- Optimiser Pro Cleaner Booster
- OS 13 Launcher - Phone 11 Pro Launcher
- OS Launcher 12 for iPhone X
- Phone Booster
- Phone Cleaner - Speed Booster
- Phone Cooler - Cooling Master
- Photo Editor
- Photo Editor Awesome Frame Effects 3D
- Photo Frame Effects 3D
- QR Code Scanner - QR Reader
- Quick Ball
- Quick Photo Square - Insta Emoji 2019
- Rain Photo Maker - Rain Effect Editor
- Recovery all photo deleted
- Repair System For Android & Speed Booster
- Ringtone maker - Mp3 cutter
- Ringtone Maker Ultimate: New Mp3 Cutter
- Scream Go - Eighth Note T-Rex
- Secret Lock
- Secure Gallery Vault: Photos, Videos Privacy Safe
- Security Pro
- Simple App Lock
- Smadav antivirus 2017
- Smadav antivirus for android 2018
- Smadav pro Total security
- Smart Cleaner-Battery Saver, Super Booster
- Sound Meter
- Speed Test Internet - Speed Check
- speedtest net app
- Sudoku 2
- Sudoku Basic For Beginners 2019
- Super Antivirus Cleaner 2020
- Super Cleaner - Phone Cache Cleaner, RAM Booster
- Super Loud Alarm Clock
- Super Loud Volume Booster
- Super Phone Cleaner 2020
- Super Wifi Rounter - Who Is On My Wifi
- Super Wifi Rounter - Who Is On My Wifi
- TV Antivirus Free + Applock
- Ultra Cleaner 2018
- Unfollowers & Ghost Followers For Insta
- Video Music Cutter & Merge Studio
- Virus Cleaner - Antivirus 2018
- VPN Unlimited Proxy - Super VPN For Android
- Wifi File Transfer 2019
- Wifi Key - Free Master Wifi
- Wifi Speed Test
- Wps Tester
- WiFi Toolbox
- WPS WPA Wifi Test
- WPS Tester
Things that are NOT allowed: