Skip to main content

Google removes 60 apps from Play Store due to reports of malware

Google has removed 60 games from the Play Store after security firm Checkpoint discovered a bug that displayed ads for porn within the games. Many of the games were aimed at young children.

Checkpoint identified three main ways in which this malware, named Adult Swine, could cause trouble for users. The first is in the nature of the ads themselves. These ads are often pornographic in nature, which many would find inappropriate in any game, let alone those aimed at children. The ads come from the pages of mainstream ad providers that forbid their content from being used in this manner. The second source of ads is the malware’s own ad libraries, which are where the porn ads come from.

Recommended Videos

Finding ads for porn in children’s games would be bad enough, but there are bigger problems with Adult Swine than that. One such problem is the practice of using deceptive ads in order to trick users. Users will get a pop-up saying that their device has been infected with a virus. Upon clicking the prompt, they will be taken to an app in the Play Store. The apps themselves are not anti-virus software, and may even be harmful in and of themselves.

The final, and perhaps most dangerous feature of Adult Swine, are the premium service pop-ups. Users will be prompted that they will win a free iPhone or other such device if they can answer four questions. After answering those questions, the users will be asked to enter their phone number. Upon doing so, they will be registered and charged for a premium service that they did not want or need.

Adult Swine isn’t particularly new or clever, and most adults will likely see right through it. Young children, on the other hand, may be more trusting and thus unwittingly expose themselves or their parents’ personal information to risk.

Once Checkpoint reported Adult Swine to Google, the company removed the affected games from the Play Store. We recently reported on Google’s efforts to keep the Play Store clear of malware, but despite this, some do still slip through the cracks.

Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A native Android Apple TV app is now in the Google Play store
The Apple TV app on a Samsung Android phone.

It's been five years since the Apple TV app was launched, and we're now getting a version for Android devices -- built from the ground up for native Android integration -- in the Google Play store that will have the same Apple TV+ functionality as the Apple ecosystem version. The new app means users with Android OS 10 or later will finally have the ability to sign up for Apple TV+ on their Android-based phones and tablets to watch shows and movies like Severance, Silo, Killers of the Flower Moon, and CODA. There will be no difference in pricing on Android compared to Apple.

This should enable seamless interactivity across platforms for features such as Continue Watching -- which keeps track of where you are in a show or movie and allows you to pick up from that spot when you return, regardless of the device you watch on. Customer's Watchlist will be kept up to date across devices as well, and since purchases are linked to your Apple account, all the content you own will be accessible on any device with the new updated app. One thing missing at launch, though, will be the ability to cast Apple TV content from your Android device.

Read more
You can officially download the TikTok app again on Android phones
Download page for TikTok app on Android in the US.

The TikTok app has not returned to the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store, ever since it went dark in the US with a ban looming over its head. That means fresh downloads are not possible on Android and Apple smartphones. Things have finally eased, at least for Android fans.

The official TikTok website now lists the software package that lets users download the app directly, instead of an app repository such as the Google Play Store. Third-party websites have hosted the app's software bundle for a while, but that route usually comes with the risk of malware.

Read more
This new Google badge helps navigate untrustworthy VPNs
Google Play Store on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

There are a lot of VPNs to pick from in the Google Play Store, but not all are trustworthy. Rather than risking your data, now you can tell at a glance which VPNs Google recommends with its new verification badge. The badge can be found right underneath the name of the app and looks like a shield with a checkmark, along with the word Verified below it.

To qualify for this badge, apps must comply with Google Play's Safety and Security Guidelines and earn a Mobile Application Security Assessment Level 2, otherwise known as a MASA. You might have noticed these badges before, and that's because this isn't the first time the Google Play Store has added them. There's a unique badge for identifying government apps, too.

Read more