Warning: Malware lurking on some cell phone cleaning apps

If storage on your cell phone is full, you may have downloaded an app promising to free up space.

But Kurt the Cyber guy has a big warning.  Some of these apps can install malware on your phone.

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It seems so easy to download an app onto our smartphones that will help clean them up and free up storage.

But cyber experts say that once installed, some ads will pop up inviting you to run programs.  If you run them, the malware can get into other apps on your phone, such as Facebook or Google, and steal your information.

Here's the blacklist from Kurt the Cyber Guy:

  • Junk Cleaner – 1M+ downloads
  • EasyCleaner – 100k+ downloads
  • Power Doctor – 500k+ downloads
  • Super Cleaner – 500K+ downloads
  • Full Clean – Clean Cache – 1M+ downloads
  • Fingertip Cleaner 500k+ downloads
  • Quick Cleaner – 1M+ downloads
  • Keep Clean – 1M+ downloads
  • Windy Clean – 500k+ downloads
  • Carpet Clean – 100K+ downloads
  • Cool Clean – 500K+ downloads
  • Strong Clean – 500k+ downloads
  • Meteor Clean – 100k+ downloads

If you've already installed one, Kurt says uninstall it immediately and remove any malware with an antivirus app.

He recommends TotalAV.

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Experts say you don't need to clean your phone.  Instead, move photos and videos to the cloud, and delete emails, texts, and apps you're not using to free up your storage.