Solitaire Among 25 Apps Axed From Google Play Store

Google, having been on the lookout for malicious apps, has announced the removal of 25 apps that were found to be stealing users’ Facebook credentials.

Google Play Store homes millions of apps that make Android phones useful in so many ways, but which can be harmful to the users if not tested for malware.

The list of the 25 dangerous apps Android phones users should uninstall immediately include, iHealth Step-counter, Solitaire, File manager, Daily Horoscope Wallpapers, Plus Weather, Super Flashlights and Super Bright Flashlights, Videomaker, Wallpaper Level, and Pedometer just to mention a few.

The 25 apps, found to be stealing users’ Facebook credentials, contained the same malicious codes. Combined, the apps have racked up over 2 million downloads and all contained the same malicious code (malware).

The malware works by waiting for the user to launch an app that’s made by Facebook. Then, it quickly opens a new browser tab with a fake Facebook login page and displays it on top of the app that was initially launched. Users would then put in their Facebook login details as the malware proceeds to copy the credentials and send them to its designated server.

Google notes that the most susceptible demographics include kids or the elderly using an Android phone for the first time.

While Google pledges to do its best to make sure that there aren’t any harmful apps on its app market, it urges users to take great caution when installing apps as some malicious ones inevitably slip through.

One can check through comments to see that the apps installed are legitimate. This was the case for most of the apps from the list above, but still, the overall rating of the apps was high enough for people to consider downloading them.