Apple has removed 17 apps for indulging in ad-fraud
Mobile security company Wandera had released a list of 17 apps for iOS which are infected with clickware meant to increase advertising revenue.
These apps were published in various countries by the same Gujarat-based AppAspect Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The iPhone maker has removed all 17 apps as they are no longer available for download on the App Store but in case you have any of these apps downloaded on your device you will need to delete it manually to save yourself from its effects.
"Clicker Trojan is a well-understood class of malware that performs ad-fraud by making frequent connections to ad networks or websites in order to artificially inflate visitor counts or to generate revenue on a pay-per-click basis," said Wandera.
All the apps that have been removed from the AppStore were found to be indulging in some kind of ad fraud. These infected apps would receive commands from the control server to load advertisements, open website in the background and change device settings to subscribe users to expensive subscriptions services, without users consent, the Cult of Mac reported recently. Apple told it's now improving the app review process to stop this happening in the future.
The 17 apps an iPhone user needs to uninstall immediately are RTO Vehicle Information, EMI Calculator and Loan Planner, File Manager - Documents, Smart GPS Speedometer, CrickOne - Live Cricket Scores, Daily Fitness - Yoga Poses, FM Radio - Internet Radio, My Train Info - IRCTC and PNR, Around Me Place Finder, Easy Contacts Backup Manager, Ramadan Times 2019, Restaurant Finder - Find Food, BMI Calculator - BMR Calc, Dual Accounts, Video Editor - Mute Video, Islamic World - Qibla and Smart Video Compressor.
Recently a cybersecurity company had identified and listed a total of 42 malicious apps on Android's Google Play Store. Out of the total 42 apps mentioned in the list, 21 were still available while some of them were also available on Apple's app store.
(With IANS inputs)
