There’s a worrying new warning for Android owners and anyone with one of these popular devices in their pockets would be wise to check their installed software and settings without delay. This new alert is due to five popular apps being banned by Google after they were found to be infected with the vicious Mandrake bug. This threat, which was actually first discovered back in 2020, allows cyber crooks to watch what users are doing on their devices, take screen recordings and even simulate screen taps remotely.

This worrying functionality of Mandrake could give hackers the opportunity to install dodgy apps without the phone owner ever knowing anything is wrong.

It's clearly concerning with things made worse by the number of people infected. It's thought that over 30,000 Android users had downloaded the apps before they were removed.

The security team at Kaspersky says the new wave of attacks may have started in 2022 but have only just been spotted due to hackers improving the way Mandrake now hides itself within infected apps. That makes it much harder to spot and block infected software.

It's thought that this is a global problem with users in the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain thought to be affected. Even though Google has banned the applications from its Play Store, you could be in danger if you have already downloaded them so be aware.

Here are the 5 apps you need to delete now

• AirFS

• Astro Explorer

• Amber

• CryptoPulsing

• Brain Matrix

Speaking to Bleeping Computer, Google confirmed the threat and said users should be protected as long as they have Play Protect enabled.

"Google Play Protect is continuously improving with each app identified. We're always enhancing its capabilities, including upcoming live threat detection to help combat obfuscation and anti-evasion techniques," Google said.

"Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services. Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play."

How to turn Google Play Protect on or off

• Open the Google Play Store app.

• At the top right, tap the profile icon.

• Tap Play Protect Settings.

• Turn Scan apps with Play Protect on or off.