The leading Android devices all use Google Play Services as a key component. It serves as a link between the Android OS and programs, mostly Google programs and programs from other developers that make use of Google authentication, cloud services, and Game Dashboard.
You could use an Android app that protects users from severe cyberattacks and operates through the official Google Play store called Google Play Protect.
According to a security notice from Google, "Google Play Protect removes apps that have been marked as potentially hazardous because the app actually contains malicious behavior, not only because we are unsure if the app is harmful or not."
Before allowing you to download an app, the feature verifies its security. To deceive users into manually installing the infected files, some of these malicious sites invite victims to download phoney security tools or upgrades.
Four malicious apps were detected by research:
- Bluetooth App Sender
- Bluetooth Auto Connect
- Driver: Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi
- Mobile Transfer: smart switch
More than a million people have downloaded all of the applications together, and they invite a significant danger of identity theft and scams.
"These apps offer capabilities that consumers desire, such as device rooting and other developer features. Users knowingly install these potentially hazardous apps," as per Google.
Essentially Google Play Protect will initially issue a warning about the app's possible dangers when a user starts to install an app that Google has categorized as 'user-wanted.' Google will not send any more warnings if the user decides to install the program anyhow.
Main functions of Google Play Protect:
- Verifies the security of downloaded programs from the Google Play store.
- Detects potentially hazardous programs outside the Google Play store.
- Warns you about hazardous applications.
- Removes or disables unwanted applications.
- Alerts you to apps that break the rules by hiding or making false representations of themselves.
- Sends you privacy alerts about applications that may request access to your personal information.
- To protect your privacy, reset your app's permissions.
Google stated in its security note that "after installation, the user-wanted classifications restrict Google Play Protect from delivering additional warnings, so there is no disturbance to the user experience."
The Google Play Services platform also enables Google to push Project Mainline modules, allowing your device to receive security upgrades without having to wait for the producer to release them.
