Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

kaspersky.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 155 posts

Re: CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

#2

Post by GordonS »

For the past few days I've been seen spam events in my calendar about "free iPhones" and "webcam girls" - I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I have CamScanner installed, so presumably that's the source...

Now, I can remove CamScanner (which is a shame, it's a really good app), but how can I ensure the trojan is also removed?

I tried the Avast AntiVirus app, but it didn't find anything.

What does everyone else do for AV on Android?

Re: CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

#3

Post by basicplus2 »

GordonS wrote: post #2

For the past few days I've been seen spam events in my calendar about "free iPhones" and "webcam girls" - I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I have CamScanner installed, so presumably that's the source... Now, I can remove CamScanner (which is a shame, it's a really good app), but how can I ensure the trojan is also removed? I tried the Avast AntiVirus app, but it didn't find anything. What does every…

Try Sophos Mobile Security

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sophos.sms...

Re: CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

#5

Post by JasonHarrison »

GordonS wrote: post #2

For the past few days I've been seen spam events in my calendar about "free iPhones" and "webcam girls" - I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I have CamScanner installed, so presumably that's the source... Now, I can remove CamScanner (which is a shame, it's a really good app), but how can I ensure the trojan is also removed? I tried the Avast AntiVirus app, but it didn't find anything. What does every…

Apparently calendar invite spam is on the rise, and CamScanner might not be related. See https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/23/20829615/google-calendar-...

Re: CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

#6

Post by dantheman »

GordonS wrote: post #2

For the past few days I've been seen spam events in my calendar about "free iPhones" and "webcam girls" - I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I have CamScanner installed, so presumably that's the source... Now, I can remove CamScanner (which is a shame, it's a really good app), but how can I ensure the trojan is also removed? I tried the Avast AntiVirus app, but it didn't find anything. What does every…

The calendar thing is probably this: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-prevent-spammers-from-infiltra...

check your emails

Re: CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

#8

Post by blisterpeanuts »

Rather than disappear it from the Store entirely, it would be nice if Google could leave a placeholder with a warning; at least it would serve an educational purpose.

Also, does the Play Store app have a way to notify users of a banned app that is still installed? I decided to check my wife's phone proactively, but I don't think she would otherwise have had a clue of malware (but has been getting weird and annoying pop-up ads).

Re: CamScanner, a malicious Android app with more than 100M downloads in Google Play

#9

Post by pbhjpbhj »

sp332 wrote: post #7

Just to clarify the headline: the app didn't have malware when most of the users installed it. A recent update added the malware.

And (based on a very brief scan read of the OP) the app is called CamScanner and is used to create PDFs.
Post reply on HN