More than 10mil users installed Android apps that showed out-of-context ads

[silversurfer]

Content source

https://www.zdnet.com/article/more-than-10mil-users-installed-android-apps-that-showed-out-of-context-ads/

Google has removed 164 Android applications from the official Play Store after security researchers caught the apps bombarding users with out-of-context ads last year.
Out-of-context ads, or out-of-app ads, is a relatively new technical term that refers to mobile ads that are shown inside a popup or on the entire screen, separate from the original app.
These types of ads have been banned on the Play Store since February 2020, when Google ruled that these ads make it impossible for users to determine the app from where the ad originated, opening a loophole on Android devices for silent ad spam. [...]

The names of all the 164 Android apps are too long to include in this news article, but users can find a complete list in White Ops' report.
According to Google Play Store rules, the apps were removed from the store and disabled on users' devices, but users still need to manually remove them from their phones.

More than 10mil users installed Android apps that showed out-of-context ads

Google has removed all 164 offending Android apps from its official Play Store.

www.zdnet.com

 

[upnorth]

Once the app is installed, it reaches out to the command-and-control server mentioned above.

After a grace period of a couple of hours (depending on the command-and-control server’s configuration), out-of-context interstitials started appearing on the device.

Spoiler

What Do I Do?

Simply put, if you have one of the apps referenced in the Appendix below, remove it from your mobile device. Additionally, the Satori Team recommends blocking any apps that call ads from activities inside the package com.tdc.adservice.*. Even though platforms could choose to allow legitimate traffic from these apps by blocking only the out-of-context ads, the Satori Team recommends using the heavier-handed approach of blocking all the apps, since they were likely created very specifically to take advantage of the digital ecosystem. When downloading a new app, make sure that you’re getting the real, official version of what you’re trying to get. Look at the reviews, not just the glowing five-star reviews, but also the one- and two-star reviews. Those are the ones that will call out ads that don’t belong and will alert you if something is amiss.

Imitation is the sincerest form of fraudery

The White Ops Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team uncovered more than 140 fraudulent apps with more than ten million downloads among them.

www.whiteops.com

 

[ForgottenSeer 85179]

I see a lot of people in public and at work which use such apps with big ads banner but they're don't care.
Looks like they even doesn't see or simple ignore them

I really can't understand this behavior but I think this is same as with "nothing to hide" attitude :/