This Fake Android Minecraft App Is Just Chockfull Of Adware
© Vertical/Car-TrzeroMillions of players have downloaded fake Minecraft Android apps that run ads in the background, generating serious profits for developers.
McAfee's cybersecurity researchers recently discovered 38 games like Minecraft for the Android platform running ads in the background without the user's knowledge and consent.
Among the 38 games, the most popular are Block Box Master Diamond (10 million downloads), Craft Sword Mini Fun (5 million), Block Box Skyland Sword (5 million) and Craft Monster Crazy Sword (5 million).
Block Pro Forrest Diamond, Block Game Skyland Forrest, Block Rainbow Sword Dragon, Craft Rainbow Mini Builder and Block Forrest Tree Crazy have millions of downloads. All are available on Google Play Store and not on third party or obscure repositories.
Whether the smartphones are overheating or running a little slower than you'd expect, researchers say there's no way for users to know when they're being shown ads. However, even these two symptoms can be explained by the usual behavior when starting a mobile game. To complicate matters, all apps work as advertised – users can actually play the game.
Most died in the United States or China, researchers said. Brazil, Iran, Britain and Germany are the biggest victims.
Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world today. It is a sandbox game that allows players to collect resources and create their own environment. The game has two modes: a creative mode where players can collect resources, build a world and survive hordes of enemies, and a creative mode where players can find everything they need to create anything they can imagine.
Minecraft is currently the best-selling video game of all time, with over 238 million copies sold. According to ActivePlayer, it has over 170 million monthly active players.
By: Bleeping Computer
