Kasperskey, a leading anti-virus security has found two malicious apps on the Play Store that put your privacy at risk. The two malware apps have disguised themselves as applications that can help clean up your Android device, however the actions SuperClean and DroidCleaner perform do nothing of the sort.

After an Android device with either of the two applications installed is plugged into a Windows PC, the apps download files straight to the PC that automatically start-up each time the device is plugged in.

Once executed, the program opens up an instance of the Windows audio recorder and will then record sound from your microphone before being packaged up and sent to the malware distributor. It has been found that the program would only start up on PCs with older versions of Windows on, or newer versions where a user has manually turned on the AutoRun feature. But according to Kapersky, that is a ‘Broad Group.’

“A typical attack victim is the owner of an inexpensive Android smartphone who connects his or her smartphone to a PC from time to time, for example, to change the music files on the device. Judging by the sales statistics for Android smartphones, I would say that such people are quite numerous. For the attack to be more successful, it only lacks a broader distribution scheme.” – Extract from Kapersky’s blog.

It’s unknown what the Malware distributor had in mind for the files the programs can receive from Windows PCs, however the application also allows the ability to send SMS messages, toggle WiFi, opening up links in the browser, as well as uploading and deleting SMS messages and contacts, photos or co-ordinates from the Android device, among other tasks.

The two malicious apps have since been removed from Google Play, however using caution when browsing the internet and downloading apps is always smart. While the vast majority of Android malware is from 3rd party app stores, this is one of the rare occurrences where malware managed to slip past Google’s security measures. Do you think Google should step up Google Play security or is this just a rare occurrence that is hard to completely prevent?

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We know Apple has a strangle hold on which apps make it to the App Store. That’s why Google is preferred by many developers since their apps have more of chance to see the light of day on Android Market. But this freedom appears to have helped malware makers as well. According to Symantec, millions of Android devices have been infected by malicious chunks of code called Android.Counterclank.

Calling it the largest Android malware infection ever, Security software vendor Symantec has discovered 13 apps from three developers (iApps7, Ogre Games and redmicapps) which are carrying the Android.Counterclank spyware which is technically a trojan and is a minor modification of Android.Tonclank. Some of these apps have been available on Android Market for at least a month.

The malware is capable of receiving remote commands without your knowledge and can steal information from your device. According to Symantec, it has infected between 1 million and 5 million Android devices so far.

The list of apps (posted below) which carry the bug includes games such as Counter Elite Force and CounterStrike Hit Enemy, and naughty titles such as Pretty women lingerie puzzle.

If you have a doubt whether an application, which is not in the above list, is infected with the trojan, you can check by seeing whether a service with the same name is running at once when you open the app. It can also be detected by looking for an added Search icon above your home screen. According to one user who installed Deal & Be Millionaire, “the game is decent … but every time you run this game, a search icon gets added randomly to one of your screens. I keep deleting the icon, but it always reappears. If you tap the icon you get a page that looks suspiciously like the Google search page“.

If there is an infected app on your device, we encourage you to uninstall it and/or reboot your device entirely back to stock.

Some of the malicious apps have already been removed from the Android Market but we are waiting for an official comment from Google.  In the meantime, we have contacted the developers for a response.

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