14 DAY TRIAL // Once again Google Play, the search engine company’s official Android market, has been found to be infested with rogue applications. Experts have found shady Legend of Zelda and Counter Terrorism games that were designed to push advertisements.
Sophos researchers determined that once the games are installed, a number of icons appear on the phone’s home screen. When clicked, these shortcuts point the user to websites that display advertisements which generate an income for the ones that launched them.
Other apps, such as the MP3 Music Download Free, and Star Chart Free were also appointed as being programed to serve advertisement sites.
All the applications are identified by Sophos products as Andr/Adop-A.
Users are advised to be cautious when installing apps, even if they’re from legitimate websites. The best way to see if an Android program is malicious is to check out the permissions it requires when it’s installed.
These particular applications have been removed, but they can resurface at any time, which is why it's always best to be careful.