According to reports, Samsung Galaxy Store contains and offers a number of apps that can infect users’ smartphones with malware.
The problem was first discovered by tipster Max Weinbach in a few Showbox-based apps on the Samsung Galaxy Store. Max Weinbach shared his experience on Twitter, claiming that a similar issue has previously been detected on Huawei phones. According to him, Google’s Play Protect warning activated while downloading Showbox-based apps from the Galaxy store, preventing the installation. According to Weinbach, at least five of the Showbox-based apps were potentially dangerous.
Different Showbox movie piracy app clones supplied by Samsung through its Galaxy Store may be able to infect devices with malware, according to a report by Android Police.
These apps are reported to contain malware, which Google’s Play Protect was able to detect shortly after installation. Low-grade alerts were also found in an analysis of Showbox-based apps offered on the Galaxy Store by online virus and malware detection firm Virustotal. Some of the apps are believed to request excessive rights, including phone access.
Multiple low-grade alerts, including riskware and adware, were found in Virustotal’s examination of the suspected programs’ APKs. Unnecessary permissions, such as access to contacts, call history, and the phone, is also alleged to be requested by some apps.
According to the report, rogue Galaxy Store apps were studied further by linuxct, a mobile security specialist, who found that these apps contain ad tech capable of dynamic code execution. This means that while the software itself may not include malware when it is released, it can download and run other code that may contain malware.