Adware
Google to flag Android apps with excessive battery use on the Play Store
Google will start taking action on Android apps in the official Google Play store that have high background activity and cause excessive battery draining. Apps that exceed a “bad behavior threshold” may be flagged on Google Play for negatively impacting battery performance and may affect their visibility in the Android ecosystem. Developers have until March 1, 2026, […]
Malicious Android apps on Google Play downloaded 42 million times
Hundreds of malicious Android apps on Google Play were downloaded more than 40 million times between June 2024 and May 2025, notes a report from cloud security company Zscaler. During the same period, the company observed a 67% year-over-year growth in malware targeting mobile devices, with spyware and banking trojans being a prevalent risk. Telemetry data […]
Android malware Konfety uses malformed APKs to evade detection
A new variant of the Konfety Android malware emerged with a malformed ZIP structure along with other obfuscation methods that allow it to evade analysis and detection. Konfety poses as a legitimate app, mimicking innocuous products available on Google Play, but features none of the promised functionality. The capabilities of the malware include redirecting users to […]
Malicious Android ‘Vapor’ apps on Google Play installed 60 million times
Over 300 malicious Android applications downloaded 60 million items from Google Play acted as adware or attempted to steal credentials and credit card information. The operation was first uncovered by IAS Threat Lab, who categorized the malicious activity under the name “Vapor” and said it has been ongoing since early 2024. IAS identified 180 apps as part […]
New Android malware ‘Necro’ infects 11 million devices via Google Play
A new version of the Necro malware loader for Android was installed on 11 million devices through Google Play in malicious SDK supply chain attacks. This new version of the Necro Trojan was installed through malicious advertising software development kits (SDK) used by legitimate apps, Android game mods, and modified versions of popular software, such as Spotify, […]