Microsoft removes eight cryptojacking apps from official store

From zdnet.com

Windows 10 apps caught cryptojacking — Image: Symantec

Microsoft has removed from the official Microsoft Store eight Windows 10 apps that had been caught mining the Monero cryptocurrency behind users’ backs for the benefit of the apps’ developers.

The names of the eight apps are Fast-search Lite, Battery Optimizer (Tutorials), VPN Browsers+, Downloader for YouTube Videos, Clean Master+ (Tutorials), FastTube, Findoo Browser 2019, and Findoo Mobile & Desktop Search.

The apps were developed by three developers, namely DigiDream, 1clean, and Findoo. US cyber-security firm Symantec, which discovered the malicious apps last month, says evidence they uncovered in the applications’ source code and adjacent domains led them to believe all eight had been developed by the same person or group, despite the different names.