Remove these malware-infested apps from your smartphone right away

A recent report by researchers at security firm McAfee has revealed that more than 60 apps are infected with the Goldoson malware. The worse part is that these popular South Korean apps are downloaded and installed over a million times. The developers of these apps accidentally added the malware by using a third-party library that contained the components plus the Goldoson malware.

Speaking of the Goldoson malware, researchers at McAfee pointed out that this malware can collect a list of apps installed on your device and the names of synced and connected devices via Bluetooth, GPS, or Wi-Fi. This data collection process gets activated after every two days. This will then target fraud ads to run in the background without the user's consent or them knowing anything about it.

Most Goldoson malware-infected apps are already removed from the Play Store

Google is already aware of the malware and has removed most of the apps from the Play Store. Do note that the developers were also affected in the same way as the users who installed these Goldoson malware-infected apps. According to the report, below is the list of apps that should be uninstalled right away if you have them on your phone.

L.POINT with L.PAY
Swipe Brick Breaker
Money Manager Expense & Budget
TMAP
Lotte Cinema
Genie Music
Cultureland version
GOM Player
Megabox
LIVE Score Real-Time score
Pikicast
Compass 9: Smart Compass
GOM Audio – Music, Sync lyrics
TV – All About Video
Guninday
Item mania
LOTTE WORLD Magicpass
Bounce Brick Breaker
InfiniteSlice Infinite Slice
Norae bang
SomNote – Beautiful note app
Korea Subway Info: Metroid
GoodTVBible
Happy Mobile Happy Screen
UBhind: Mobile Tracker Manager
Mafu Driving Free
Girl singer WorldCup
FSP Mobile
Audio Recorder
Catmera
Cultureland Plus
Simple Air
Lotteworld Seoul Sky
Snake Ball Lover
Play Geto
Memory Memo
PB Stream
Money Manager (Remove Ads)
Inssaticon – Cute Emoticons
ECloud
SCinema
Ticket Office
Lotteworld Aquarium
Lotteworld Water Park
T map for KT, LGU
Random number
AOG Loader
GOM Audio Plus – Music, Sync
Swipe Brick Breaker
Safe Home
Chuncheon
Fantaholic
Cinecube
TNT
Bestcare Health
InfinitySolitaire
New Safe
Cashnote
TDI News
Eyesting
TingSearch
Krieshachu Fantastic
Yeonhagoogokka

Do note that although most apps have already been removed from the Play Store, that doesn't mean they aren't harmful now. You should uninstall them from your phone and other devices, as they can steal your data even if they are on a device you do not actively use.

Sagar Naresh

General Google Malware Play Store South Korea