What apps should I stay away from?

[CmHall9]

From time to time I hear about apps I should not download or I need to remove from my Droid.

What apps have?
? given you trouble,
? ended up being a major drain on resources and or battery,
? been embedded with spyware, malware, viruses,
? other.

And be sure to explain why.

Like everyone else it's hard to weed out the bad apps from the good ones.

Also I do know and understand that some apps have a hard time on older devices and whether or not you have modified your device.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Use caution with the unknown sources toggle. Amazon app store is fine, as are betas from big companies like SwiftKey Flow beta. Chinese app store not so much.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[gone down south]

Just read the Play Store reviews on any app, they'll give you good insight into how helpful or well designed it is.

 

[CmHall9]

Just read the Play Store reviews on any app, they'll give you good insight into how helpful or well designed it is.

I read reviews all the time.
I do not talk to too many people about apps so whenever I have a problem I'll stop by Verizon. Over time I've had a few employees tell me not to use...
Zedge
Flashlight
Scanner Radio
Task Killer (as well as other any type of killer or cleaner).

What I'm curious about is what other people say, what apps should everyone stay away from?

 

[B. Diddy]

Avast Antivirus uses significantly more battery than Lookout.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[trunks527]

Zedge is fine. Does no harm at all.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[B. Diddy]

I think Zedge has some issues a while back with pushing ads to the notification bar. Did they clear that up? Ad pushing is a nuisance, but not necessarily malware.

 

[srkmagnus]

Keep an eye on the AC front page. Apps that are malicious will likely be posted on the front page as news. You can also take a close look at the permissions being requested and questions why such permissions are required -- good developers explain why certain permissions are required if something seems suspicious.

Download apps from notable sources -- The Play Store and Amazon are good examples. Yes, I know there can be a malicious app in the play store, but due deligence on the users part will reduce or prevent the risk of problems.

 

[johnmcd348]

I think Zedge has some issues a while back with pushing ads to the notification bar. Did they clear that up? Ad pushing is a nuisance, but not necessarily malware.

I've installed that one and so far have not had any issues with that one. I was having issues with push ads to the notification bar this past week and had a thread on it. After uninstalling the Download Manager app(wherever it came from I don't know) that has seemed to stop. Maybe that one came with Zedge.

I just noticed today that I somehow, now have have a Handango app on my phone that I never installed knowingly. I haven't used them since my days of using my WinMo(and earlier WinCE) PDA's. I didn't even know they existed anymore.