How to Avoid the Next Batch of Android Malware-Infected Apps
Malicious programs are not fun (some would say they are bytes if they were very funny). If malware is installed on your Android device, it can steal data, disrupt functionality, and on top of that, force your phone to install more malware. No one intentionally downloads malware onto their phone, but detecting it in the wild can be more difficult than you might think. Fortunately, there are resources to help you.
Joker malware – problem
One of the biggest malware problems facing Android is Joker, a nickname that hackers refer to malicious code that they like to attach to innocuous-looking apps on the Play Store. These apps will ask for permissions to access much more of your data than they should, but they won’t actually take advantage of those permissions right away. Instead, they will wait for a while before installing the Joker malware on your device. This is called a dropper attack.
Once Joker is installed on your device, it can discreetly subscribe you to premium subscription services (which you don’t even know if you don’t check your credit card statement) and / or send data from your device back to hackers; contact information, text messages and other sensitive and confidential information are all fair play in this scenario.
How to identify a potential joker app
Luckily, you don’t have to blindly hope that the next app you download is safe and without the joker. Instead, just follow Tatyana Shishkova on Twitter . Shishkova (@ sh1shk0va) is an Android malware analyst at cybersecurity company Kaspersky. Shishkova’s Twitter feed is mainly dedicated to exposing active apps in the Play Store that secretly contain Joker malware.
At the time of this writing, Shishkova’s latest development is an application called Hearing Aid with Volume Booster. Aside from the odd use of capital letters in the title, the app looked pretty standard for the occasional third-party app. However, Shishkova identified it as an Android Trojan for the Joker, which led to its removal from the Play Store.
It looks like every app that Shishkova has tweeted about in the past has been removed from the Play Store, which means you should keep an eye on her feed. While uninstalling apps is good news, they can still wreak havoc on the devices they were installed on, so it’s worth scanning her feed to see if any of your apps match the ones she identified in the past.
Be careful when downloading strange apps
This is of course not the first time we have warned you about applications carrying the Joker malware , and we doubt it will be the last time. Joker is really good at bypassing Google watches, which is why hackers often manage to hide apps containing it in the Play Store. Be careful to check it before downloading the app. How are the reviews? Does the app seem to serve a specific purpose? Does the description or images seem legitimate or suspicious? Do the requested permissions make sense for its functionality? If you ask yourself these questions before installing, it will save you a lot of headaches down the road.