The page may not load correctly.
August 10, 2020
In July, the number of threats detected on Android devices decreased by 6.7% compared to June. The number of active malware lowered by 6.75%, unwanted applications by 4.6%, riskware by 8.42% and adware by 9.83%.
Throughout the month, Doctor Web malware analysts uncovered yet more malicious apps on Google Play. The Android.Banker.3259 banking trojan, disguised as an SMS manager, was one of them. New modifications of the Android.HiddenAds adware trojan family, capable of displaying advertisement banners, were among other threats. Furthermore, a new member of the dangerous Android.Joker trojan family, designed to subscribe users to premium services and execute arbitrary code, has also been spotted.
Program modules incorporated into Android applications and designed to display obnoxious ads on Android devices. Depending on their family and modifications, they can display full screen ads and block other apps’ windows, show various notifications, create shortcuts and load websites.
Among the threats found on Google Play in July were the new modifications of the Android.HiddenAds malware family, dubbed Android.HiddenAds.2190 and Android.HiddenAds.2193. Their authors spread them as an image editing software.
Upon their launch, they hid their icons from the apps list on the main screen, similar to other trojans of this family. They do so to make it more difficult for the users to delete them. After that, they start to display obnoxious advertisement overlays on top of other apps and the operating system UI.
Another trojan discovered by Doctor Web malware analysts was dubbed Android.Joker.279. It hid under the guise of an application designed to work with SMS. Upon its launch, it subscribed victims for premium services and was able to run arbitrary code.
Moreover, our specialists uncovered a new banking trojan dubbed Android.Banker.3259. Malware writers based this banker on an open source SMS messenger.
Upon its launch, the trojan connects to the remote server and waits for further commands. Based on the received response, it either continues to operate as a harmless application or tries to steal personal data from the user by displaying a phishing window. In addition, Android.Banker.3259 saves all the incoming and outgoing SMS to the Firebase cloud database. Cybercriminals can then use the information, obtained from these messages, in future attacks.
To protect your Android device from malware and unwanted programs, we recommend installing Dr.Web for Android.
© Doctor Web
2003 — 2022
Doctor Web is a cybersecurity company focused on threat detection, prevention and response technologies