Vietnam is among the countries with the most people infected with Xavier malware.

The Xavier malware has affected hundreds of free Android apps on the Google Play Store. Southeast Asian countries have the highest number of people infected with the malware.

According to security firm Trend Micro, more than 800 Android apps on the Google Play Store have been found to be infected with information-gathering malware called Xavier. The malware is pre-installed on many free Android programs such as photo editors and wallpapers and has been downloaded millions of times.

A Xavier malware application.

Xavier malware is essentially an advertising library - often integrated into free applications to trigger advertisements, acting as a source of revenue for programmers and considered adware. 2 years ago, it was relatively harmless and simple but has now evolved into a sophisticated and dangerous type of malware.

Trend Micro experts say it can hide, execute code remotely, and steal information. In other words, the malware is smart enough to avoid being analyzed by security programs. It is also designed to download executable code from a remote server and is configured to silently collect sensitive user data such as email, device ID, model, operating system, country, manufacturer, current carrier, and installed applications.

The highest number of people infected with the malware came from Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, with smaller numbers coming from the United States and Europe. This is not the first time the Google Play Store has been a breeding ground for malicious apps. In March 2017, more than 100 apps attempted to infect Android devices with Windows malware; by May, more than 36 million Android devices had been affected by Judy.

To avoid falling victim to Xavier malware, you should only download apps from trusted developers, read reviews carefully before installing, and always keep your devices and apps updated to the latest versions.

According to ICT News