Bad news for Android users. In an announcement made by a cybersecurity firm, there are three trojan variants that could render your smartphones helpless when attacked. It warns Android users of a nearly impossible to remove Android malware.
According to a report from Quinten Plummer of Tech Times, the three malicious software are placed by malicious players or hackers into the repackaged Android apps. These then are downloaded by unsuspecting Android users into their phones via third-party apps stores.
Plummer added that around 20,000 samples of apps tested positive from malware infection. The trojans are identified as Shuanet, Kemoge (Shifty Bug), and Shedun (GhostPush). Once any of these three infects a victm's smartphone, the unit becomes unstable and the only recourse is to have it completely reformatted.
These malwares do not use any kind of exploits. Instead, these destructive trojans use vulnerabilities exploited by legitimate root enablers. Root enablers are apps that unblocks or opens an Android's file system.
Plummer likewise injected that in case a smartphone does become infected, the only choices are either to seek professional help to remove it or to purchase a brand new phone.
Continuing with this breaking news, the three malicious malwares (Shuanet, Shifty Bug, and GhostPush) will automatically place any smartphone in auto-root mode once infected. Andrea Peterson of The Washington Post reveals the malicious apps function like their real counterparts and gain "root access" to the device. After this, the doppelganger apps will install themselves as system applications and wreak havoc in the smartphone.
Users usually turn to third-party apps market vendors because of free offers and discounted apps. Peterson also adds that Android users should discontinue downloading apps from unofficial distribution sites and just stick to getting them from the official Google Play Store.
And in closing, Lookout security researchers say that these three trojans will highly impact Android and its future releases. According to Michael Mitchell of Financial Spots, these malwares underscore a "worrying development in the Android ecosystem". This simply means big problems ahead if they are not contained immediately.
Mitchell adds that these intruders have already affected many worldwide and the apps mostly "'victimized" are Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, NY Times, and Candy Crush Saga. Silent rooting occurs once the unit is compromised posing more threats to security and further malware infections, Mitchell concludes.
Threats like these are no longer a surprise. It is just a matter of proper timing for hackers and malware developers to breach Android and render its system hapless.
The only solution viable at the moment, and the most practical one, is for Android users to download their apps only from official Google Play Store.
Until Google and Lookout have been able to devise a cure to neutralize these malwares, Android users are strongly advised to avoid downloading apps from third-party vendor sites.
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