New Strain Of Android Malware Is 'Virtually Impossible' To Remove

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Honestly, it should be legal to hunt down the people that make this stuff and kick their asses.

Do you remember the bad old days of computer viruses so invasive that it was easier to nuke your software and start over than fix the problem? They're back... in mobile form. Lookout has noticed a trend toward Android malware that masquerades as a popular app, but quietly gets root-level access to your phone and buries itself deep in the operating system. If that happens, you're in serious trouble.
 
And this is only found on 3rd party (not Amazon) app stores. Meaning you know exactly what these app stores are used for. You get what you pay for. ;)
 
Vermillion said:
And this is only found on 3rd party (not Amazon) app stores. Meaning you know exactly what these app stores are used for. You get what you pay for. ;)
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Yes because everyone on the planet is as tech literate as you in understanding the complex nuances of the Internet. What you consider common sense like many others on this website, is actually still foreign to many individuals who don't share the same passion or knowledge as you do. Food for thought.
 
Ski said:
Yes because everyone on the planet is as tech literate as you in understanding the complex nuances of the Internet. What you consider common sense like many others on this website, is actually still foreign to many individuals who don't share the same passion or knowledge as you do. Food for thought.
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If you go visit a shady 3rd party app store to pirate apps you get what you deserve. Period. No different then visiting shady areas of the Internet on a Windows PC to pirate apps. You get what you deserve.
 
The source is Lookout and they sell an anti-virus/malware/spyware subscription so it would be in their best interest to scare dumbsumers into buying it. Reality is a lot of devices haven't gotten root even with a paid bounty and it usually requires tethering to a PC to gain root so for these devices to get rooted by an app only is pretty unlikely. And, unlike they claim you can just reflash the firmware to clean slate.

https://www.lookout.com/pricing
 
Steve said:
Do you remember the bad old days of computer viruses so invasive that it was easier to nuke your software and start over than fix the problem?
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And how easy did the Android/iOS developers make it so that the end user or vendors for that matter can do the same with phones?
 
Vermillion said:
If you go visit a shady 3rd party app store to pirate apps you get what you deserve. Period. No different then visiting shady areas of the Internet on a Windows PC to pirate apps. You get what you deserve.
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Blame the end user not the developers of poorly written software that doesn't prevent this or allow the user to simply re-flash the device cleanly.
 
If software can permanently embed itself beyond wipe to default that is androids issue.

If people are scared to loose crap on their mobile device so a wipe is a big deal that is their issue and shouldn't even be a concern.

Google does a fairly good job of backups to the cloud, picture back ups is worlds better now a days.

We should expect and be prepared that our mobile devices could break, get lost, wiped at anytime and technology is at the point where we an expect to easily/quickly get back to a known good state.
 
If it is that easy to get root, how come the Note 4 VZW is still unrooted after almost two years?

It is a shame to see crap like this getting so much coverage without clarifying.

Sites like Ars are running with this full speed ahead, not surprising, given that only crapple and microcrap products are perfect according to them.
 
No matter what mobile device (Android, IOS, Windows) we all use, there's no guarantee it can't be rooted.
 
Tis a shame root be changing and getting extremely difficult to achieve... for the note 3 and 4 it is impossible to root if you have the latest software I dont know about the s line but lolipop has proven excedingly difficult.
 
Ski said:
Yes because everyone on the planet is as tech literate as you in understanding the complex nuances of the Internet. What you consider common sense like many others on this website, is actually still foreign to many individuals who don't share the same passion or knowledge as you do. Food for thought.
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Maybe, but just about every stock Android phone requires you to go and change security settings just to allow 3rd part app stores in the first place, so a certain amount of savvy is required to open yourself up to attack. So those that know just enough to get themselves into trouble are the most vulnerable, ie your average "power user" (probably my least favorite tech term of all time). Grandma and also those that actually know what they are doing (as opposed to just knowing what they want to do) are pretty safe.
 
"Kick their asses"? They ought to have their fingers removed, without anesthetic.
 
dgingeri said:
"Kick their asses"? They ought to have their fingers removed, without anesthetic.
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Just their fingers? I say first we put bamboo splinters under their finger nails and toenails until they stop reacting to that then we pull off the finger and toe nails and soak them in salt water. When they get conditioned to that we will soak their hands and feet in honey and let fire ants clean the flesh from their toes and hands.
 
I've come across this, a few weeks ago. It looks like a lot of cheap phones and tablets come pre-rooted, here in Brazil, so some kid got this crap on his mom's phone.

I tried a reset via phone and ADB, but the malicious apps would not go away until I found a stock rom and flashed the thing.
 
I always find these articles dissatisfying because there are never any details. It's like "ermagerd malware can get root access!" And you ask, "Wow, what is the technical mechanism that actually allows that?" And that question is never answered.
 
Lunas said:
Just their fingers? I say first we put bamboo splinters under their finger nails and toenails until they stop reacting to that then we pull off the finger and toe nails and soak them in salt water. When they get conditioned to that we will soak their hands and feet in honey and let fire ants clean the flesh from their toes and hands.
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:eek:
...
 
Lunas said:
imagine what you would want to happen if you download an app only to find your phone essentially bricked with a ransomware type virus.
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You also forgot to remove their ability to physically procreate via similar methods
 
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