This Barcode Scanner App Became Malicious After an Update; Delete It Now

Although in that location are tons of useful apps on the Google Play Store, every now and and then developers try to sneak in malicious apps that might negatively impact your Android device. 1 such barcode scanning app, with millions of downloads, that started every bit a regular app became malicious, cheers to an update dorsum in December 2020.

But dubbed "Barcode Scanner," the app was a simple barcode scanning app on the Play Store. However, researchers from cybersecurity house Malwarebytes discovered that after an update to the app, users started seeing ads out of nowhere while they were browsing the web on their Android device using their default spider web browsing app.

Nathan Collier from Malwarebytes was initially confused after receiving numerous user complaints of advertizing-bombardment on Android devices. And then, after the necessary research, Collier discovered that the said Barcode Scanner app was the primary culprit. He said that the app received an update in December which included malicious lawmaking responsible for the ads.

"Information technology is frightening that with one update an app tin can turn malicious while going under the radar of Google Play Protect, It is baffling to me that an app programmer with a popular app would plow it into malware. Was this the scheme all along, to have an app prevarication fallow, waiting to strike after it reaches popularity?", asked the researcher.

The said Barcode Scanner app has over 10 meg downloads on the Play Shop and, as you can imagine, has a massive user-base of operations. Following the discovery of the malicious update, however, Google has removed the app from the store. Notwithstanding, if you already accept it installed on your device, y'all might get afflicted by the annoying ads popping up on your Android device.

So, if y'all have information technology on your device, uninstall the app immediately and choose from the other options on the Play Shop. Before downloading, do make sure to check out the user-reviews and required permissions to brand sure the app is safe.