AdultSwine Malware Inserts Porn Ads and More in Android Games on Google Play Store

Android is plagued by another malware codenamed AdultSwine that shows pornographic ads, installs questionable apps and registers users for premium services.

January 13, 2018 · 3 min · 515 words · Maria Mcfarland

Table of Contents

AdultSwine Malware Inserts Porn Ads and More in Android Games on Google Play Store

While Android might be the world’s most preferred mobile OS, it is also highly vulnerable to foreign threats. We’ve previously had reports ofvarious malware problemsthat have affected users’ devices by turning them intocryptocurrency mining machines,stealing banking informationandother similar activities. Now, a new malware has been reported that displays pornographic ads on users’ devices.

As reported byCheckPoint, researchers have discovered a new and nasty malicious code on Google Play Store that hides within over 60 games and apps. What’s most alarming is that the target audience for these apps is mostly children between the age groups of 5-15. According to Google Play’s data,these apps have been downloaded between 3 to 7 million times.

Dubbed “AdultSwine”, the malicious apps having this code works in three different ways:

For the ads, the malicious code contacts its Command and Control server to report the successful installation, send data about the infected device and then receive the configuration, which determines its course of operation. The code then goes on to verify certain conditions regarding the device’s status and checks which app is currently running on the screen. Once all its terms are met, it begins to display the offending ads outside of the app’s context.

Apart from displaying pornographic ads,AdultSwine is also responsible for installing unnecessary and even harmful “security” apps.First, the code displays an ad that claims the user’s device is infected by a virus. This is shown alongside a prompt for “Clean/Remove Virus Now”. Should the user tap on that, they’ll be redirected to the Google Play Store, where the user will be presented with a malicious app which disguises itself as a virus removal tool.

Another way thatAdultSwine affects your mobile device is by automatically registering the user for premium services.For instance, the code will display an ad that the user is entitled to win an iPhone by simply answering four short questions. Upon answering them, the malicious code informs the user that he has been successful, and asks him to enter his phone number to receive the prize. The code then uses this number to register for premium services.

While Google did introducePlay Protectto scan for malicious activities, more often than not, the service hasn’t been able to identify such threats. While we did have reports of the service reportingMi Videoas unsafe, it is a shame that such plots that have been existing for quite a long time now, have still not been resolved by Google. As such,we urge people to use apps with caution, and avoid apps with a questionable rating, or ones that claim to solve all your problems. The reviews are the first indicators of problematic apps. So make sure you check them out thoroughly before downloading apps, even on the Play Store.

Varun Mirchandani

This isn’t an interview! Why am I being asked to tell you about myself? :P Well, if you really wanna know, I’m currently trending worldwide on #BeingMirchi. Buy me a beer if you like my work. Cheers!

Add new comment

Name

Email ID

Δ

simple hit counter