Authored by SangRyol Ryu
We live in a world where advertisements are everywhere, and it’s no surprise that users are becoming tired of them. By contrast, developers are driven by profit and seek to incorporate more advertisements into their apps. However, there exist certain apps that manage to generate profit without subjecting users to the annoyance of ads. Is this really good?
Recently, McAfee’s Mobile Research Team discovered a concerning practice among some apps distributed through Google Play. These apps load ads while the device’s screen is off, which might initially seem convenient for users. However, it’s a clear violation of Google Play Developer policy on how ads should be displayed. This affects not only the advertisers who pay for invisible Ads, but also the users as it drains battery, consumes data and poses potential risks such as information leaks and disruption of user profiling caused by Clicker behavior.
The team has identified 43 apps that collectively downloaded 2.5 million times. Among the targeted apps are TV/DMB Player, Music Downloader, News, and Calendar applications. McAfee is a member of the App Defense Alliance focused on protecting users by preventing threats from reaching their devices and improving app quality across the ecosystem. We reported the discovered apps to Google, which took prompt action. Most apps are no longer available on Google Play while others are updated by the developer. McAfee Mobile Security detects this threat as Android/Clicker. For more information, and to get fully protected, visit McAfee Mobile Security.
Many affected apps
How does it work?
This ad fraud library uses specific tactics to avoid detection and inspection. It deliberately delays the initiation of its fraudulent activities, creating a latent period from the time of installation. What’s more, all the intricate configurations of this library can be remotely modified and pushed using Firebase Storage or Messaging service. These factors significantly add to the complexity of identifying and analyzing this fraudulent behavior. Notably, the latent period typically spans several weeks, which makes it challenging to detect.
Getting latent period by using Firebase Messaging Service
It is important to be cautious about the implications of granting permissions, such as excluding ‘power saving’ and allowing ‘draw over other apps’. These permissions can enable certain activities to occur discreetly in the background, raising concerns about the intentions and behavior of the applications or libraries in question. Allowing these permissions can result in more malicious behavior, such as displaying phishing pages, also to displaying ads in the background.
Asked permissions to run in the background and keep it hidden
When the device screen is turned off after the latent period, the fetching and loading of ads starts, resulting in users being unaware of the presence of running advertisements on their devices. This ad library registers device information by accessing the unique domain (ex: mppado.oooocooo.com) linked with the application. Then go to Firebase Storage to get the specific advertisement URL and show the ads. It is important to note that this process consumes power and mobile data resources.
Observed traffic when the screen off
If users quickly turn on their screens at this point, they might catch a glimpse of the ad before it is automatically closed.
Example of an advertising site displayed when the screen is off
In conclusion, it is essential for users to exercise caution and carefully evaluate the necessity of granting permissions like power saving exclusion, or draw over other apps before allowing them. While these permissions might be required for certain legitimate functionalities for running in the background, it is important to consider the potential risks linked with them, such as enabling hidden behaviors or reducing the relevance of ads and contents displayed to users because the hidden Clicker behavior. By using McAfee Mobile Security products, users can further safeguard their devices and mitigate the risks linked with these kinds of malware, providing a safer and more secure experience. For more information, visit McAfee Mobile Security
Indicators of Compromise (IoC’)
Domains:
best.7080music.com
m.gooogoole.com
barocom.mgooogl.com
newcom.mgooogl.com
easydmb.mgooogl.com
freekr.mgooogl.com
fivedmb.mgooogl.com
krlive.mgooogl.com
sixdmb.mgooogl.com
onairshop.mgooogle.com
livedmb.mgooogle.com
krbaro.mgooogle.com
onairlive.mgooogle.com
krdmb.mgooogle.com
onairbest.ocooooo.com
dmbtv.ocooooo.com
ringtones.ocooooo.com
onairmedia.ocooooo.com
onairnine.ocooooo.com
liveplay.oocooooo.com
liveplus.oocooooo.com
liveonair.oocooooo.com
eightonair.oocooooo.com
krmedia.oocooooo.com
kronair.oocooooo.com
newkrbada.ooooccoo.com
trot.ooooccoo.com
thememusic.ooooccoo.com
trot.ooooccoo.com
goodkrsea.ooooccoo.com
krlive.ooooccoo.com
news.ooooccoo.com
bestpado.ooooccoo.com
krtv.oooocooo.com
onairbaro.oooocooo.com
barolive.oooocooo.com
mppado.oooocooo.com
dmblive.oooocooo.com
baromedia.oooocooo.com
musicbada.oouooo.com
barolive.oouooo.com
sea.oouooo.com
blackmusic.oouooo.com
Android Packages
Package Name
Application Name
SHA256
Google Play Downloads
band.kr.com
DMB TV
f3e5aebdbd5cd94606211b04684730656e0eeb1d08f4457062e25e7f05d1c2d1
10,000+
com.dmb.media
DMB TV
6aaaa6f579f6a1904dcf38315607d6a5a2ca15cc78920743cf85cc4b0b892050
100,000+
dmb.onair.media
DMB TV
a98c5170da2fdee71b699ee145bfe4bdcb586b623bbb364a93bb8bdf8dbc4537
10,000+
easy.kr
DMB TV
5ec8244b2b1f516fd96b0574dc044dd40076ff7aa7dadb02dfefbd92fc3774bf
100,000+
kr.dmb.onair
DMB TV
e81c0fef52065864ee5021e1d4c7c78d6a407579e1d48fc4cf5551ff0540fdb8
5,000+
livedmb.kr
DMB TV
33e5606983526757fef2f6c1da26474f4f9bf34e966d3c204772de45f42a6107
50,000+
stream.kr.com
DMB TV
a13e26bce41f601a9fafdec8003c5fd14908856afbab63706b133318bc61b769
100+
com.breakingnews.player
뉴스 속보
d27b8e07b7d79086af2fa805ef8d77ee51d86a02d81f2b8236febb92cb9b242d
10,000+
jowonsoft.android.calendar
달력
46757b1f785f2b3cec2906a97597b7db4bfba168086b60dd6d58d5a8aef9e874
10,000+
com.music.free.bada
뮤직다운
a3fe9f9b531ab6fe79ed886909f9520a0d0ae98cf11a98f061dc179800aa5931
100,000+
com.musicdown
뮤직다운
5f8eb3f86fc608f9de495ff0e65b866a78c25a9260da04ebca461784f039ba16
5,000+
new.kr.com
뮤직다운
397373c39352ef63786fe70923a58d26cdf9b23fa662f3133ebcbc0c5b837b66
100,000+
baro.com
바로TV
3b4302d00e21cbf691ddb20b55b045712bad7fa71eb570dd8d3d41b8d16ce919
10,000+
baro.live.tv
바로TV
760aa1a6c0d1e8e4e2d3258e197ce704994b24e8edfd48ef7558454893796ebe
50,000+
baro.onair.media
바로TV
b83a346e18ca20ac5165bc1ce1c8807e89d05abc6a1df0adc3f1f0ad4bb5cd0c
10,000+
kr.baro.dmb
바로TV
84a4426b1f8ea2ddb66f12ef383a0762a011d98ff96c27a0122558babdaf0765
100,000+
kr.live
바로TV
cccfdf95f74add21da546a03c8ec06c7832ba11091c6d491b0aadaf0e2e57bcc
1,000+
newlive.com
바로TV
c76af429fabcfd73066302eeb9dd1235fd181583e6ee9ee9015952e20b4f65bf
50,000+
onair.baro.media
바로TV
6c61059da2ae3a8d130c50295370baad13866d7e5dc847f620ad171cc01a39e9
10,000+
freemusic.ringtone.player
벨소리 무료다운
75c74e204d5695c75209b74b10b3469babec1f7ef84c7a7facb5b5e91be0ae3e
100,000+
com.app.allplayer
실시간 TV
8d881890cfa071f49301cfe9add6442d633c01935811b6caced813de5c6c6534
50,000+
com.onair.shop
실시간 TV
1501dd8267240b0db0ba00e7bde647733230383d6b67678fc6f0c7f3962bd0d3
50,000+
eight.krdmb.onair
실시간 TV
bbd6ddbfee7482fe3fe8b5d96f3be85e09352711a36cd8cf88cfdeaf6ff90c79
10,000+
free.kr
실시간 TV
5f864aa88de07a10045849a7906f616d079eef94cd463e40036760f712361f79
10,000+
kr.dmb.nine
실시간 TV
ea49ad38dd7500a6ac12613afe705eb1a4bcab5bcd77ef24f2b9a480a34e4f46
100,000+
kr.live.com
실시간 TV
f09cff8a05a92ddf388e56ecd66644bf88d826c5b2a4419f371721429c1359a7
10,000+
kr.live.onair
실시간 TV
e8d2068d086d376f1b78d9e510a873ba1abd59703c2267224aa58d3fca2cacbd
100,000+
kr.live.tv
실시간 TV
1b64283e5d7e91cae91643a7dcdde74a188ea8bde1cf745159aac76a3417346e
50,000+
kr.media.onair
실시간 TV
bd0ac9b7717f710e74088df480bde629e54289a61fc23bee60fd0ea560d39952
100,000+
kr.onair.media
실시간 TV
d7dd4766043d4f7f640c7c3fabd08b1a7ccbb93eba88cf766a0de008a569ae4d
1,000+
live.kr.onair
실시간 TV
b84b22bc0146f48982105945bbab233fc21306f0f95503a1f2f578c1149d7e46
10,000+
live.play.com
실시간 TV
516032d21edc2ef4fef389d999df76603538d1bbd9d357a995e3ce4f274a9922
50,000+
new.com
실시간 TV
5d07a113ce389e430bab70a5409f5d7ca261bcdb47e4d8047ae7f3507f044b08
50,000+
newlive.kr
실시간 TV
afc8c1c6f74abfadd8b0490b454eebd7f68c7706a748e4f67acb127ce9772cdb
100,000+
onair.best
실시간 TV
6234eadfe70231972a4c05ff91be016f7c8af1a8b080de0085de046954c9e8e7
50,000+
com.m.music.free
음악다운
ded860430c581628ea5ca81a2f0f0a485cf2eeb9feafe5c6859b9ecc54a964b2
100,500,000+
good.kr.com
음악다운
bede67693a6c9a51889f949a83ff601b1105c17c0ca5904906373750b3802e91
100,000+
new.music.com
음악다운
fee6cc8b606cf31e55d85a7f0bf7751e700156ce5f7376348e3357d3b4ec0957
1,000+
play.com.apps
음악다운
b2c1caab0e09b4e99d5d5fd403c506d93497ddb2de3e32931237550dbdbe7f06
100,000+
com.alltrot.player
트로트 노래모음
469792f4b9e4320faf0746f09ebbcd8b7cd698a04eef12112d1db03b426ff70c
50,000+
com.trotmusic.player
트로트 노래모음
879014bc1e71d7d14265e57c46c2b26537a81020cc105a030f281b1cc43aeb77
5,000+
best.kr.com
파도 MP3
f2bbe087c3b4902a199710a022adf8b57fd927acac0895ab85cfd3e61c376ea5
100,000+
com.pado.music.mp3
파도 MP3
9c84c91f28eadd0a93ef055809ca3bceb10a283955c9403ef1a39373139d59f2
100,000+
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