A new “Android” threat targeting “Samsung Galaxy”!

And unlike many other threats, which revolve around malicious apps that infiltrate the Google Play Store, this time the downloads you need to avoid are in the Samsung Galaxy Store. The threat was highlighted by Android Police, where one of its writers – prominent leaker Max Winback – discovered several applications that might be able to infect your Samsung Galaxy with malware. The apps in question are an imitation of the now-defunct Showbox piracy app, which is not working in 2021 after being targeted by rights holders for copyright infringements.

Winback found at least five fake Showbox apps on the Samsung Galaxy Store, which were blocked by the Google Play Protect security system.

“Samsung hosts actual malware on the Galaxy Store,” Winback tweeted. “Google’s antivirus, which is built into Play Services, stops installation. I found at least 5 of these apps in a row on the Galaxy Store.”

Analysis of the offending apps shows that downloads are able to request unnecessary permissions such as accessing contact information, call logs, and phone usage.
It was also found that the offending applications were able to download a range of different malware and then execute malicious code on an unexpected victim.

An Android linuxct security analyst explained: “At any moment it could turn into a Trojan/Malware, and therefore unsafe, which is why many vendors have flagged it in VT/Play Protect.”

The Samsung Galaxy Store, unlike the Google Play Store, does not list the number of app installs.

But the fake Showbox apps together received hundreds of reviews, including some stating that the user received a malware warning when they tried to install it.

Also, fake Showbox apps are not listed on Google Play Store, while Showbox hasn’t worked for nearly two years.

And if you want to avoid downloading a dangerous app — whether it’s one that has crept into the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store — there are a few good practices to follow.

First, make sure that the app you are downloading is from a trusted source.

And with so many third-party Android apps out there, this can be tricky – so if you see an app you like that looks from an unfamiliar name, check out the reviews.

And if there aren’t a lot of reviews, or you find that there are a lot of negative reviews warning of suspicious activity, alarm bells should sound right away.