Android users should check their phones immediately.
Anyone with either the “Sun Pro Beauty Camera” or “Funny Sweet Beauty Camera” is putting their phone at risk of being infected by adware.
That’s according to a new security report from Wandera that emphasised the adware in question could brick devices, drain battery life or completely infect them to the point they need replacing.
The firm noted that combined, both apps have been downloaded over 1.5 million times from the Google Play Store and have received a cavalcade of negative reviews for intrusive adverts.
Testing both apps on a mobile running Android 5.1.1, Wandera said it noticed the duo would continue to run in the background – even if their shortcut is uninstalled.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
It was noted SunPro Beauty Camera and Funny Sweet Beauty Camera were each capable of showing promotions on a user’s device – sometimes even if the former had not been opened.
The security firm explained: “Testing on SunPro Beauty Camera showed that even if the app is never opened and even after restarting the device, full-screen ads start to pop up that are difficult to close.
“Funny Sweet Beauty Camera showed that the full-screen ads begin to appear outside of the app only when a filtered photo is downloaded via the app, locally on the device.”
While adware can infect a handset, it is also used to allow a third-party to generate revenue.
In addition to adware, both apps were noted to feature “concerning permissions”.
Worryingly, the most notable of which was described to allow the pair to “record audio at any time without user confirmation”.
Additionally, Sun Pro Beauty Camera was declared to be capable of overlaying information to “trick the user into clicking something they did not want”.
Finally, Funny Sweet Beauty Camera’s permissions also included the ability to display content over another app and boot up after a phone has switched on.
At the time of writing, both Sun Pro Beauty Camera and Funny Sweet Beauty Camera appear to have been removed from the Google Play Store.
Users with either apps downloaded should remove them immediately.
The report from Wandera comes shortly after a laundry list of other adware-laden programmes were discovered by the team at Trend Micro.
It is also advised users uninstall the apps listed here, too.