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Researchers have revealed that about two dozen free Android VPN apps were actually turning their host devices into residential proxies. All apps have since been removed from the Play Store, but some have been reinstated after cleaning up their code.
Cybersecurity researchers at HUMAN’s Satori Intelligence Team recently discovered a total of 28 apps. All included the “Proxylib” software development kit (SDK). Built in the Golang programming language, this SDK is designed to perform proxying, the process by which internet traffic is routed through a third-party device.
All apps have since been removed from the Play Store, but some have been reinstated after cleaning up their code.
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There are legal uses for proxies, but if it’s not clearly stated within the app, it’s likely a crime. Hackers use this to hide their traffic when doing things like ad fraud and phishing.
Of the 28 apps, 17 were free VPN apps. Here is the complete list:
- light vpn
- animes keyboard
- blaze stride
- Byteblade VPN
- Android 12 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
- Android 13 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
- Android 14 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
- captain droid feed
- Free Old Classic Movies (by CaptainDroid)
- Phone comparison (by CaptainDroid)
- Fast Fly VPN
- Fastfox VPN
- Fastline VPN
- Funny Char Ging Animation
- limousine edge
- Oko VPN
- phone app launcher
- Quick Flow VPN
- Sample VPN
- secure sander
- shine secure
- speed surf
- Swift Shield VPN
- Turbo Track VPN
- Turbo Tunnel VPN
- Yellow Flash VPN
- VPN Ultra
- Run a VPN
Researchers believe that these apps are linked to Russia-based residential I’m guessing it’s linked to Asocks, a proxy service provider.
After discovering the app, Google removed all the apps from the Play Store, but some reappeared after removing the possibly malicious SDK.
Users would be wise to double check if their app is still listed on the Play Store and if not, delete it. Or at least update to the latest version.
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