All Questions
38 questions
4
votes
2
answers
6k
views
If my old device is infected, can my new device get viruses from my social media accounts?
Is it okay to log in my social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) from my old phone that I believe is infected with viruses to my new phone? Can virus transfer because of that?
- 41
1
vote
3
answers
265
views
Can my phone got infected if visit my mail inbox without opening any mail attachments?
I've found some articles saying some viruses/malware can attack your device by just opening an email without downloading or opening any attachments.
Is this true?
If yes, how risky for ordinary mail ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
293
views
I'm receiving text messages that my family didn't send
Lately I've been receiving text messages from family members that they did not send. All 4 family members and I are a part of the SMS group where we send and receive messages related to our family.
...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
381
views
Can flash drive infect Android and then the Android infect Windows PC?
I found a flash drive outside my home. Thinking one of my neighbors might have dropped it and wanting to return to them (but still wanting to be cautious), I (stupidly) plugged it into an old Android ...
- 1
-1
votes
1
answer
195
views
Malware from Android text?
Lots of questions!
I clicked a scam USPS link on my phone while half asleep. The website loaded and a small window popped up immediately and I quickly backed out of my browser but briefly saw the site ...
0
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Can two antivirus softwares work on one android phone?
Scenario: You have one antivirus installed on your phone. You suspect that your phone might have malware on it so you do a system scan and your AV doesn't find anything. So you decide to download ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
172
views
Why is my unpublished app being run remotely? New info and an answer
This is a follow-up to a sequence of earlier posts. The posts have been closed because they did not meet the moderator's expectations. I have new information, and I'm re-posting so that I can answer ...
- 121
1
vote
0
answers
308
views
How can I know if phone is already infected?
Last year, my friend who is learning hacking for nearly 3 years hacked my phone using social engineering by installing some malware in my phone. (After researching on Google, I think it might be a ...
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can spyware be downloaded and installed on Android phone in a minute or less?
Following Scenario:
You unlock your phone and you give it to someone so they can promply check it out (since it's a new phone).
Now let's presume that the very exact person has intentions to install ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
997
views
Can malware go from a computer to an android phone
My computer (probably) had malware, and during that time I connected my phone to it (via USB) for transferring files, using as midi, etc. Is there a chance the malware could've spread from the ...
user261600
0
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Android 10 downloaded suspicious files without my permission
This is my first question on this forum so please let me know if I need to clarify anything.
My Android 10 Pixel 2 just downloaded 2 files without my permission today, both named something to the ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
268
views
Disinfecting Android device
If an unrooted Android device is infected with a virus, rootkit or malware, would resetting the device disinfect it?
0
votes
2
answers
207
views
Opened a phising email on school email
Hello I opened this email sent to my school email and I realized it was a phising email.
And now my OCD and anxiety are going haywire. Is it possible I got infected? I did not click on any links. I ...
- 11
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Upload malware to F-Droid repo?
What's the auditing/vetting process like to get an Android app into the F-Droid repository? To ask it another way, what's to stop an evil developer from uploading a backdoored Android app to the F-...
- 41
2
votes
1
answer
994
views
How can I recover my exploited android phone? [closed]
I have a Samsung S9 phone that has been exploited by my neighbor, however I am unsure as to how to prove/verify it, how in depth the access is to my phone, or how I can re-secure my phone.
It seems ...
6
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How to find what files in a zip are malware using Virustotal
I have a malware infected android phone and I am suspicious that some of the binaries in system/bin/ and system/xbin/ are malware so I decided to dump the system and zipped the contents of bin and ...
- 163
1
vote
1
answer
288
views
Android antivirus apps
Is it necessary to have an internet connection to run and properly scan an android device for viruses or malware using an anti-virus app? How an anti-virus app scan an android device for infected ...
- 123
1
vote
1
answer
15k
views
What's the risk in downloading a .pdf from a phishing email?
I've received an email which is an obvious phishing attempt. However, a .pdf has been attached which I want to open, just out of curiosity!
What are the risks in downloading .pdf files from unknown ...
- 113
5
votes
1
answer
27k
views
If my Android phone has a virus, can I change its SIM into a new phone to get a clean start, or can the SIM carry over the virus?
I am considering switching my SIM card into a spare Android phone I have, in light of two issues:
1) My issue here: Suspicious text received from my # but I did not send it - is there definitely a ...
- 373
0
votes
1
answer
398
views
Is my Android device infected with a virus?
I don't know if my device has a virus, but I will describe the symptoms:
My device suddenly reduces its performance, applications are lagging and reacting slowly while RAM is still free.
When I am ...
- 109
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Does a compromised kernel give complete control over a device?
It seems that a recent vulnerability in WiFi firmware allows an attacker to run code in kernel space, e.g. replace a kernel function with malicious code. In Android/Linux:
Would that give an ...
- 333
1
vote
1
answer
3k
views
Is it possible to get virus/malware by just connecting to an Android phone acting as a WiFi hotspot? [duplicate]
Is it possible that my Windows 8.1 computer gets infected by virus or malware by just connecting to an Android phone acting as a WiFi hotspot? I didn't do anything else. I didn't surf the internet, ...
- 111
2
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Can malware be transferred from an Android device to a Desktop computer?
I am curious if it's possible for Malware to be transferred from an Android device to a Desktop Computer.
In my situation I had detected malware on my android device via Lookout, and promptly deleted ...
- 907
1
vote
1
answer
218
views
how to debug for DNS changing Maleware on (linux/android)?
So by opening an application/browser on my Android device, I found that it pops open a set of ads. I channeled a proxy through my laptop trying to track the first web site it connects to. Later I ...
0
votes
1
answer
214
views
What kind of damage does the HummingBad Android malware do when it fails to gain root access?
There is this Android virus out there called HummingBad, and it seems the first thing it tries to do is try to get root access.
There are so many device models out there, and the rooting process is ...
- 3,127
1
vote
0
answers
390
views
How exactly does the HummingBad Android malware gain root access?
I've read a little bit in the last few days about HummingBad, an Android virus which tries to gain root access. It seems to use the root access to display ads and install apps. Varying estimates put ...
- 3,127
2
votes
1
answer
708
views
What to do with an APK file containing Swf.Exploit.CVE_2015_0323-1 and ELF File?
I received an APK file from a source. Prior to installation, I ran a virus scan on it. The result had following main features:
The file contained Swf.Exploit.CVE_2015_0323-1
It required android....
- 123
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
My cellphone is infected, and it keeps coming back
My Android smartphone downloads apps automatically without any interaction. Generally, the apps are known but some are unknown apps. I can only assume this is a virus/malware.
So I decided to format ...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
655
views
How to protect against the new malware Mazar Bot?
Mazar Bot is new Android malware that spreads via SMS.
Its capabilities: It can read incoming SMS and send itself, make calls to directory contacts, contaminate Chrome, access to the Network, read the ...
- 2,251
3
votes
3
answers
20k
views
Can a virus spread between two Android devices logged into the same Google account?
It seems like I have a virus on my android tablet. I have had my tablet for 2.5 years (virus problems for almost 5 months). I am thinking about buying a new phone (Android) in the near future (I ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
250
views
Possible sources of repeated Adware infections
In the last couple of months I have had the same thing happen on separate occasions to two Android phones, a Mac laptop and a Windows desktop computer. In all cases, something infects Chrome making ...
- 181
11
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Does Android have sufficient app sandboxing?
In a previous question in InfoSec, I asked about how to determine the safety of a sideloaded Android app that requires root permissions.
Now I would like to ask a related, but different question: Is ...
- 3,174
2
votes
2
answers
494
views
Determining safety of Android APK executable that requires root
On my request, a developer gave me a new version of his Android app to test. The app requires root permissions.
I do not know the developer personally. I have no specific reasons to trust or ...
- 3,174
0
votes
2
answers
764
views
Virus (or Trojan) in Android
Definition of virus is (from Wikipedia):
A computer virus is a malware program that, when executed, replicates by inserting copies of itself (possibly modified) into other computer programs, data ...
- 101
2
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Can virus save to SIM Card?
(Before everything excuse me because of my English) Today one of my friends asked me about his Nokia 130 Dual SIM. There was a problem about Short Message System. No Messages were sent from that phone....
- 53
1
vote
1
answer
972
views
Detecting Malware in the android App [closed]
I've been given an APK file, and before re-distributing to the "market" I want to make sure the given android app does not contain the malware. How can I do that ?
Business use case is similar like : ...
- 121
5
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Strange android app … possibly a mass malware?
I started receiving on my android Samsung Galaxy note strange notifications in Mandarin (the language of the people of china). Once I click on the notification it opens my browser with a blank page ...
- 51
2
votes
3
answers
225
views
Is possible to know if increased marketshare means more viruses?
I'm having an argument with other developers about why more "viruses" exist (including all forms of external attacks, exploits, etc) in Android vs iOS. Like with Windows vs *nix, the main idea is that ...
- 21