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| Child detects a large number of fraudulent applications |
The researchers said: The children's suggestions inspired them to discover the high prices of adware and aggressive apps for iOS and Android smartphones, which have been downloaded 2.4 million times from the App Store and Google Play.
Some rogue apps appear as entertainment, wallpaper or music download apps and even display intrusive ads even when the app is idle. To prevent users from uninstalling them, the app hides their icons. It is difficult to determine the source of the advertisement. SensorTower, a smart phone app service, estimates that these apps cost between $ 2 and $ 10 and have generated more than $ 500,000 in sales.
Safe Girl Avast researchers promoted an app that appeared to be offensive after a girl found a TikTok profile and then reported on Be Safe Online, a project in the Czech Republic to educate children about safety in the Line app. 11) An app for iOS and Android devices that have participated in similar scams.
A third of TikTok users advertise multiple fraud apps, one of which has more than 300,000 subscribers, and Instagram users are promoting these apps as well.
Avast threat analyst Jacob Vavra said in a statement, "We are grateful to the girl who introduced us to the TikTok profile. Her knowledge and responsible work is that we must all act in a safer online world."
Avast experts said that rogue apps provided misleading data about the app's functionality, displayed ads outside of the app, or hidden the app shortly after installing the app. Parent app code that violates the App Market Terms of Use.
(Avast) said: Apple and Google have specifically alerted the behavior of these apps and warned TikTok and Instagram accounts advertising fraudulent apps.
A Google spokesperson said: The company has removed these apps. Internet research appears to be able to confirm this. At the time of writing, it appears that there are still several iOS apps available on the Appstore. Apple and TikTok representatives did not comment on this article, and Facebook representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Android users are fully aware of Google Play apps that offer malicious apps or perform unethical behavior (such as ad torrenting). It is usually not easy to slow down these applications. Floods. On the other hand, the abusive apps from the App Store are less common, which does not mean that these iOS apps were never encountered.
Last month, researchers discovered more than 1,200 iPhone and iPad apps that monitor URL requests from users within the app in violation of the App Store Terms of Service. These apps use developer groups to display ads. The click notification has also been manipulated to show the appearance. Users will not see ads from an app-based ad network, even if they do not. This behavior also allows SDK developers to steal the revenue that should have been allocated to others. Advertising networks.