There was a somewhat recent outbreak of malware on Android, and it came from an unlikely source—the Google Play Store. Several established apps have received updates a few months ago that contained an unwanted add-on called either DU Quick Charge, DU Battery Boost, DU Boost Charge, DU Speed Charge, DU Speed Booster, or another name starting with DU.
It’s not particularly malicious, but these DU add-ons take over your lock screen to display ads while your device is charging. And to make matters worse, the malware is hidden within other apps, so it can be hard to find the true source of the problem.
Ultimately, this comes as a result of several app developers wanting to cash in on some extra ad revenue by including DU services with their apps. And since Google hasn’t made any effort to block any of these developers from their app store, the only solution is to manually uninstall the apps that have caused the issue.
What You’ll Need to Do
To be blunt about it, a handful of previously-respected app developers have crossed a serious line here. If you’re seeing the DU charging lock screen, it’s because an app you previously enjoyed and trusted has a greedy developer who purposely included this malware as part of a recent app update—which means it’s definitely time to move on.
To get rid of this DU malware, you’ll have to uninstall the app that brought it to your phone. If you have any of the offending apps in the following list, simply head to the app’s Play Store page (linked out below), then press the “Uninstall” button.
Apps That Are Known to Have Included DU Malware
- 360 Security
- Amber Weather Wiget
- App2SD
- AppLock
- ES File Explorer (note about this app below)
- ES AppLocker
- Flashlight & LED Torch
- FotoRus – Photo Editor
- GO Keyboard
- GO SMS Pro
- GO Weather
- HiFont
- iMuslim
- InstaMag – Photo Collage
- KittyPlay Wallpapers Ringtones
- LOCX App Lock
- Next Browser
- Photo Collage Editor
- Photo Editor Pro
- PIP Camera-Photo Editor
- Sharecloud
- Solo Launcher
- TouchPal Keyboard
- TrustGo Ad Detector
- UC Browser
- XBrowser
- XBrowser – Super Fast & mini
- Xender
- Z Camera
This list was compiled with the help of a Google Docs spreadsheet started by Reddit user Sphincone.
More Information
First, I want to stress that this is not an exhaustive list, so there may be more apps that include the DU malware which aren’t listed here. We verified that these apps were all offenders by reading through user reviews, but there were additional suspected apps that could not be verified.
Secondly, some apps, like ES File Explorer, have since been updated to remove the DU malware. This means that you shouldn’t see the lock screen ads even if you keep such an app installed, but keep in mind that the developer knowingly included this malware to begin with, which should be enough reason to never trust them again.
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