Out of the 28 in total, Human's Satori threat intelligence team has found that more than a dozen are masquerading as free VPN apps.
Google is pretty good at catching dodgy apps before the land on the Play Store - but some apps fall through the cracks.
When just one of these apps is downloaded on an Android phone, that device can then be used as a secret proxy.
The proxy is manipulated by hackers to route internet traffic through devices located in homes for their own dodgy dealings.
When hackers do this, it makes malicious web activity look like legitimate web traffic which is less likely to be blocked.
It's mostly used as a method of getting away with ad fraud, spamming, phishing and stealing login credentials and passwords to various accounts.
Victims who install one of these apps will have their internet bandwidth hijacked without their knowledge - which can wreak havoc on their Wi-Fi speeds.
In the worst case scenario, there is a risk legal trouble if your home appears as the source of malicious activity.
There are a few sinister signs there's a hacker surfing your internet waves.
Your internet is suddenly and mysteriously slow, even though there are no problems in your area
Of the 28 applications, 17 have been passed off as free VPN software.
If you have unknowingly installed one of the following apps, it's advised to delete it immediately.
Lite VPN
Anims Keyboard
Blaze Stride
Byte Blade VPN
Android 12 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
Android 13 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
Android 14 Launcher (by CaptainDroid)
CaptainDroid Feeds
Free Old Classic Movies (by CaptainDroid)
Phone Comparison (by CaptainDroid)
Fast Fly VPN
Fast Fox VPN
Fast Line VPN
Funny Char Ging Animation
Limo Edges
Oko VPN
Phone App Launcher
Quick Flow VPN
Sample VPN
Secure Thunder
Shine Secure
Speed Surf
Swift Shield VPN
Turbo Track VPN
Turbo Tunnel VPN
Yellow Flash VPN
VPN Ultra
Run VPN
Play Video
If you do so, you will want to log into your router and change the password that's used to access your router settings.
Then you should change the wireless network password to something unique and not easily guessable.
