Why you should delete these Android apps from your phone

If you are an avid installer of apps from Google Play, you need to check if your mobile has been compromised. There’s this sneaky Android virus called VajraSpy found in 12 bad apps. Six of them were on Google Play from April 1, 2021, to September 10, 2023, but they got removed. Still, you can find them on other app stores pretending to be messaging or news apps.

If you downloaded these apps, you might have caught VajraSpy. This virus is like a spy – it steals your personal stuff, like contacts and messages. Depending on what permissions it gets, it might even record your phone calls.

Smart folks at ESET found out about this and say the ones behind it are a group called Patchwork APT. They’ve been up to no good since at least 2015 and seem to really like bothering people in Pakistan.

What’s funny is that in 2022, these bad guys messed up big time. They accidentally infected their own computer systems with another virus called ‘Ragnatela.’ This oops moment let the good guys at Malwarebytes peek into what Patchwork was doing.

Android espionage

Researchers have found 12 malicious Android applications containing the same VajraSpy RAT code, six of which were uploaded on Google Play, where they were downloaded roughly 1,400 times.

The apps that were available on Google Play are:

1. Rafaqat رفاقت (news)
2. Privee Talk (messaging)
3. MeetMe (messaging)
4. Let’s Chat (messaging)
5. Quick Chat (messaging)
6. Chit Chat (messaging)

VajraSpy apps available outside Google Play are all bogus messaging apps:

1. Hello Chat
2. YohooTalk
3. TikTalk
4. Nidus
5. GlowChat
6. Wave Chat

Third-party app stores do not report download counts, so the number of people who have installed them through these platforms is unknown.

If any of the above apps have been installed in your device, you must uninstall them right now!

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