More fake VLC apps arrive in the Windows Store on a regular basis

Dec 23, 2013 06:41 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has pledged to pay much more attention to the apps published in the Windows Store, but it turns out that the Redmond tech giant is actually approving quite a lot useless items that do nothing more than to steal users’ money.

The VLC saga is clearly the best example, as some third-party developers are trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of the famous media player by creating fake apps listed for download in the Windows Store.

Since an official VLC port is yet to arrive on Windows 8.1, users might be tricked into believing that they are downloading the real app, so when they are required to pay for a license, they do it without thinking too much about it.

At least five such apps arrived in the Store in the last few days and Microsoft is yet to remove yet at the time of writing this article, not to mention that they shouldn’t be listed for download in the first place.

Here’s what the description of an app called “VLC* New 8.1 Player” reads:

“VLC* New 8.1 Player Simple, fast and powerful media player.Plays everything: Files, Discs, Devices .The player supports many audio and video file formats. Designed for windows 8 with appbar support. Effective Player with Elegant design.Enjoy your movies with VLC* New 8.1 Player.”

Another app, created by the same developer called “SCP” has been indexed by the Windows Store a couple of days ago and comes with the following description:

“VLC* Play For Windows*8.1 if you are looking for a VLC* Play with powerful function, simple interface and excellent features. VLC* Play For Windows*8.1 is particularly designed for you to enjoy HD movies, video.”

In most cases, these apps cost at least a few apps and do not come with a trial version, asking people to pay for a license before downloading them.