CamScanner, the popular document scanning app downloaded by over 100 million people, was removed by Googlefrom the Play Store. Over 100 The app was reportedly distributing malware on smart devices. Security researchers from Kaspersky Lab revealed in its recent vulnerability report that Camscanner has been carrying malware. Now, the company has fixed the issues and it is back on the Play Store.
Reason for removal of Camscanner
The security firm found a malware module identified as ‘Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Necro.n’. Few apps previously spotted this particular malware that came pre-installed on some Chinese smartphones. Researchers also noted that, Phone PDF Creator and CamScanner-s
Scanner are the different names of this app.
There’s a good chance that you know about the CamScanner app, which is available on both Android and iOS. The ‘Phone PDF Creator’ or ‘Scanner to Scan PDFs’ app had over 100 million downloads, before Google Play Store booted it. Researchers at Kaspersky Labs found a malware in the recent versions of the popular OCR (optical character recognition) app. It was apparently harbouring an advertising library containing a malicious module that the Kaspersky researchers identified as ‘Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Necro.n.’ As per the report, few apps previously spotted this particular malware that came pre-installed on some Chinese smartphones.
The malware module was spotted only on the Android version of the app and it seems like its iOS version is still available on the App Store, probably because of Apple’s strict app vetting policies. As the Kaspersky blog notes, CamScanner was a pretty good app that offered notable functionality. While it displayed ads for generating revenue, there were options for in-app purchases and buying a License separately for eliminating ads.
Google’s inability to detect malware
The Camscanner app row proves Google’s inability to keep malware-ridden away from users. In the past few months alone, the company has removed a number of apps. However, it has done so after it was highlighted by a security research firm. Check Point Software Technologies recently showed how Agent Smith malware affected over 25 million Android devices. Around 15 million of these devices are in India. Google Play Store is the safest way to download applications. However, the recent events have proved that it is not 100 percent safe, after all. And this is where Google needs to look at.
