How to remove malware on Android, after warning of harmful apps on Google Play Store Researchers uncovered evidence that some apps are overloading the devices they are installed on with fraudulent ads

A new crop of malicious apps available through Google’s Play Store has been unearthed, and the offenders have been downloaded over 500 millions times.

The apps in question contain harmful adware which can seek out dangerous system permissions to cause serious harm to your Android mobile device.

With the number of downloads so high, there’s every chance one or more of the malicious programmes could be lurking on your device.

The i newsletter latest news and analysis Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

Here’s everything you need to know about them, including how to get rid of them from your device.

Which apps are affected?

The latest batch of affected apps includes four VPNs and two selfie apps.

Security researcher Andy Michael uncovered evidence that four Android VPNs are overloading the devices they are installed on with fraudulent ads.

This means that revenue can be illicitly generated for the apps’ operators, but the companies behind the ads see nothing in the way of compensation.

All four of the VPN apps were created in China, and have been installed more than 500 million times.

If you have any of the following, you should delete them from your device immediately:

HotSpotVPN

Free VPN Master

Secure VPN

CM Security Applock AntiVirus

Read more: Agent Smith Android malware secretly generates infected apps

The final two apps are camera filter apps that had more than 1.5 million installs between them before they were removed from the Google Play Store.

Sun Pro Beauty Camera and Funny Sweet Beauty Selfie Camera – surely an app that nobody seriously trusted – filled displays with full screen ads, and even continued displaying ads when the app was closed.

According to experts, this suggests a high level of sophistication in the code needed to run the malware.

While these apps have since been removed from the Play Store, researchers at Wandera found that the apps were also capable of recording audio without the user’s knowledge.

How to remove malware from your phone

The first thing you’ll want to do is re-launch your device in safe mode.

Most Android devices allow you to do this by holding down the power button for a couple seconds when your device is on, then tapping and holding on the ‘Power off’ option.

Doing this should bring up a few options, including ‘Reboot to safe mode’. Choose this and wait for your phone to reboot.

If you’re not presented with any such option, the next safest thing to do is to switch your phone or device to airplane mode.

Then, head into your devices Settings, and scroll until you see the section called Apps.

Once inside, be on the lookout for a list of all the apps currently installed on your device (it could be in a section called ‘App Manager’).

Find the offending app(s), then select it/them, bringing up an option to uninstall.

Choose ‘Uninstall’ on any spurious apps, and your device should remove the app fully.