Security firm finds 32 apps on Google Play infected with malware

While Google Play has caught up with Apple's App Store in terms of sheer number and quality of apps, the service's open nature still causes trouble now and then. Security firm Lookout is now warning users against 32 apps on Google Play that have been found to be infected by a malware called BadNews. If installed, the malware sends messages to premium rate text numbers.The malware won't be detected immediately after installing the apps. It has been designed to stay dormant for a few weeks so as to avoid detection. To be specific, the malware has been specifically targeted towards Android users in Eastern-European countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The premium rate message-sending malware is quite popular in Eastern Europe and Russia.Google has removed the apps since Lookout's warnings, but the security firm estimates that the malware has been downloaded between 2 to 9 million times. Some of the infected apps included wallpaper apps, recipe generators, games and porn apps.