Android virus that disables the phone: Reasons not to go … – La Voz del Interior

In recent days, several media echo the announcement of computer security firm Lookout, on the appearance of a malicious virus that type of malware “disguises” of popular applications like Facebook, became snapchat and Twitter and it is impossible to remove mobile devices once discharged into the system.

To add a touch of drama, it affects the Android operating system, which runs far more portable appliances the world. “We have seen at least 20,000 samples of this virus Trojans masked under legitimate applications like Facebook, Candy Crush, NYTimes and WhatsApp,” he told BBC Michael Bentley, Head of Research at Lookout.

First Instead, 20,000 samples from a total of 1.000 million users of Android (0.002 percent) does not seem too alarming numbers, and if we are the ways that a user might ‘infect’ your smartphone are the chances of seeing fall further affected.

“What the hacker is to take the implementation of Google Play ‘repackage’ with malicious virus and then place it in other virtual stores selling applications,” said Bentley. Then users download, for example Facebook, confident that it is a safe process-indeed, repackaged application works properly-but almost automatically and without the user noticing installs a virus in what is known as the “heart” of the mobile phone: the root directory. And to get him out of there even run a factory reset: literally, the phone serves more

Now, to run, the virus needs the victim down applications store third party applications. . That is, applications that go down as far as apps from Google Play (the only one you should trust), you will not have any problems.