Hackers always take advantage of the free software offered to users to install viruses and malware on it. This is why some APK files can be harmful. Still, that doesn't stop many people from using APK files anyway. The only way to protect yourself from any harmful APK file is to take these precautions.
Because APK files install applications on the system, they can pose a serious security threat. A person with malicious intent could modify the APK before installing it and then use it as a digital Trojan horse to install and execute malware. Since the APK files don't come from the Play Store, you can't be sure that the application is the way its developer conceived it. By downloading an apk from a site, you risk losing control of your device and your account information.
So how can you ensure that the APK files you're using are safe and won't harm your phone or device? There are several precautions you can take. In terms of site usability, APKPure extracts screenshots, application descriptions, and general metadata directly from Google. Before installing any APK file on your devices, be sure to check it with one of these useful tools. When you download an app from Google Play, you're downloading and running an apk file in the background, but you don't have access to the APK itself.
Your Android phone is vulnerable to viruses and malware if you download apk files from untrusted websites. So how is APKPure secure? The site verifies the legitimacy of all applications before publishing them using SHA1 to ensure that the certificate is secure. This means that you don't have to worry about any middleman injecting malware into APKs before you get hold of them. One of the best ways to ensure that the APK file you want to install on your Android device is safe is through the VirusTotal website.
When you enter the apk file in the verification bar, HashDroid will show you everything about this application's MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256. One way to prevent these nasty viruses from infecting your phone is to download APK files only from trusted sources.