When you buy a new device, The last thing you expect is that it will come infected with malware. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and it happens that, How it has been discovered, Even big brand devices come infected from the factory.
Among the affected brands are Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, Asus, Nexus or Lenovo.
According to researchers, The malware is not included in the operating system of the devices themselves, but at some point in the production chain some person, With bad intentions, has been able to install the malware on smartphones.
The malware detected is from the Loki and SLocker family. The first includes spying functions, How to collect the list of installed apps, browser history, the contact list, call history and geolocation data.
SLocker is a mobile ransomware that hijacks the user's information and demands a ransom in order to recover it.
Below is a list of infected mobile phones, according to the researchers' findings:
- Galaxy Note 2.
- LG G4.
- Galaxy S7.
- Galaxy S4.
- Galaxy Note 4.
- Galaxy Note 5.
- Xiaomi Mi 4i.
- Galaxy A5.
- ZTE x500.
- Galaxy Note 3.
- Galaxy Note Edge.
- Galaxy Tab S2.
- Galaxy Tab 2.
- Oppo N3.
- Vivo X6 plus.
- Nexus 5.
- Nexus 5X.
- Asus Zenfone 2.
- LenovoS90.
- OppoR7 plus.
- Xiaomi Redmi.
- Lenovo A850.
The process to get rid of this infection is not a simple process and you must have advanced computer knowledge. We recommend that you do not follow the steps written below if you do not have such knowledge, as you could render your phone unusable.
Two methods to get rid of the infection
Malware, when installed in the device's ROM, is not accessible by a normal phone user, We'll need to make ourselves rooton our terminal. This means having Administrator permissions on our phone. Once these permits have been obtained, We will be able to uninstall malicious applications like any other application.
Another method, more drastic, is FlashThe terminal. What this process does is completely reinstall the mobile operating system from scratch.
Incredible… You could refer to the origin of the information (if it is public, of course)?
The source is: http://blog.checkpoint.com/2017/03/10/preinstalled-malware-targeting-mobile-users/, It is in English and details even the malware installed in each version.