Safety Applock & 6 Other Apps You Should Probably Delete If You Don't Want Your Phone Hacked

Are you an Android user who has recently downloaded a seemingly innocent-looking app that virtuously promises to give your phone a ‘safety app lock’ and looks most sincere? Chances are, that devil-in-disguise is stealing your money. Before reading on, check once that your bank balance hasn’t fallen to a big zero.

So Pradeo, a mobile security solutions firm, has alerted Android phone users about a new strain of infection. No no, we aren’t talking about Omicron, that’s a completely different (and desperate) story. This is about Joker malware, which infects apps and not people. It targets popular apps, having infected 15 on Google Play already.

Last year, Joker malware had created a major mobile security risk as it had infected genuine Android apps on Google Play Store. So Google had intervened then and removed this malware from Google Play Store.But looks like the Joker Malware, much like its namesake, successfully bypassed Google’s security, yet again.

Pradeo said in a report that Colour Message, a popular app with more than 5 lakh users which is the latest to be infected, “appears to be making connections to Russian servers”. Chills.

So going into technicalities even when I am not a techie buff, this malware falls in the category of “Fleeceware”. Basically an invisible thief that will empty your bank account before you can say n-o-o-o. Sounds like your food craving and the Zomato affinity? Yes, but you get nothing in return.

This malware is so sly that it can make you subscribe to paid online services and click on online ads, all without taking your permission. The worst part? It is reading your OTPs from SMS and secretly approving payments while you are reading this article. Go go, check your bank statement to know if you’ve been paying for a random online service. But first ask your siblings, they might be the ones behind those unusual subscriptions.