New Android Adware Almost Impossible to Uninstall, Auto-Roots Devices - The UpStream

New Android Adware Almost Impossible to Uninstall, Auto-Roots Devices

posted Sunday Nov 8, 2015 by Nicholas DiMeo

New Android Adware Almost Impossible to Uninstall, Auto-Roots Devices

It's well known that the Android platform is loaded with malware. In fact, it is the most vulnerable and infection-ridden mobile operating system. It gets even worse than that, however. This week, researchers have identified a new adware that has hit the Android marketplace. This new bug makes it practically impossible to uninstall the app, and also masks itself as a popular app like Facebook or Twitter in order to gain access to as much data as possible.

Over 20,000 samples of the malicious apps were uncovered and the apps actually just take code from official apps and repackage them with a similar name, and are distributed through third-party app stores. The creators of the adware hope that users will be confused by the similar name. The psuedo-official apps are often times complete replicas of the original, and even function as such. But behind the scenes, the app is gaining root access to the mobile device, allowing more trojans to be installed and uploading all of the device's data to a server. All of this happens without the user's knowledge in less than a minute.

Mobile security company Lookout posted a blog entry about the newly discovered malware.

For individuals, getting infected with Shedun, Shuanet, and ShiftyBug might mean a trip to the store to buy a new phone. Because these pieces of adware root the device and install themselves as system applications, they become nearly impossible to remove, usually forcing victims to replace their device in order to regain normalcy.

Lookout adds that the app may only look like it's displaying an ad or two, but assured that it grabs administration rights to a device and then proceeds to avoid being extracted or uninstalled once it's in. Currently, the company says that the highest amount of detections are coming from the US, but they have also picked up traces of the infection in Germany, Iran, Russia, India, Jamaica, Sudan, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. Currently these apps aren't on the Google Play store directly, but that isn't too far off the horizon, considering that Google Play breaches happen about a dozen times a year, with malicious apps flooding the market within seconds.

While it's not surprising to hear of more trash apps filling the Android world, it is worth revisiting the idea that one should always be cautious of what app they're downloading. Additionally, it is imperative to check the developer or publisher of the app, to ensure its authenticity.

Advertisement

Login to CommentWhat You're Saying

posted Thursday Dec 3, 2015 by Owen21

You should protect your phone in the same way as your computer. There are a lot of anti-malware programs, that will help you with this. I read a lot of ratings on http://removalbits.com/ and similar websites and can recommend you KIS, Malwarebites, Bitdefender, Avira and Norton. This is well-trusted tools with good reviews.

We're live now - Join us!
PLUGHITZ Keyz

Email

Password

Forgot password? Recover here.
Not a member? Register now.
Blog Meets Brand Stats