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    Categories: Mobile

Popular Android Barcode Scanner app found to harbor malware

Recognition: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

  • A popular Android barcode scanner app has been identified as malicious.
  • The barcode scanner was found to contain a Trojan horse that opened fake websites and asked to download apps.
  • The app has since been removed from the Google Play Store.

Some popular Google Play Store apps seem harmless at first, but a new report reminds us that we should always know that apps can change. Malwarebytes (h / t: 9to5Google) discovered that a popular barcode scanner app is infected with malware.

The app in question, simply called a barcode scanner, was made by Lavabird Ltd. developed. According to the title, it is a free app that enables the scanning of barcodes and QR codes. While free apps usually use promotional SDKs, which sometimes get too aggressive, Malwarebytes explains that the barcode scanner didn’t.

Instead, a new update sent to the app added lines of malicious code. The security company determined that this was specifically a Trojan Android / Trojan.HiddenAds.AdQR. The malicious code also used “strong obfuscation to avoid detection,” the report adds.

The malware targets users by automatically launching the browser, loading fake websites and popups, and requesting the installation of malicious apps.

Before the malware problem was discovered, Barcode Scanner was a popular app. There was a four-star rating on the App Store with over 73,000 reviews. The Play Store suggests the app has been installed by over 10 million users. However, since the Malwarebytes report, the app has been completely removed from the Play Store.

Have you installed a barcode scanner?

There are a number of barcode scanner apps on the Play Store, but you are looking for a specific product by the package name com.qrcodescanner.barcodescanner. Once you have that particular app installed, it might be best to drop it right away.

It’s not uncommon for malicious apps to get onto the Play Store. Although Google has put security levels and audits in place to mitigate this, these buffers are not always enough. However, in the case of Barcode Scanner, it is quite difficult to weed out seemingly safe apps from sudden Trojans.

If you want to improve the security of your device, here is a list of security and antivirus apps for Android.

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Emma Watson: