Android may have hit another Malware Attach Application | Effecting Millions

An Antivirus company Avast has alerted Android users to a particularly annoying piece of Android malware. A number of applications have been lying dormant for up to a month, before triggering pop-up adverts when a smartphone is unlocked that encourage users to click on them. These clicks can potentially open up malware-infested web pages, run illicit processes on the handset, or prompt the user to install other applications. 

Philip Chytry wrote on Avast Blog;

"Each time you unlock your device an ad is presented to you, warning you about a problem, e.g. that your device is infected, out of date or full of porn. This, of course, is a complete lie. You are then asked to take action, however, if you approve you get re-directed to harmful threats on fake pages, like dubious app stores and apps that attempt to send premium SMS behind your back or to apps that simply collect too much of your data for comfort while offering you no additional value."

According to Forbes. The malware-loaded applications include a patience/solitaire card game called Durak which has been downloaded between five and ten million times (according to the Google Play Store), alongside an IQ test and a history-based application. Members of the Avast Forum believe the code delivering the malware is found in the packaged config file for the mobi.dash apk. 

Google has quickly moved to reassure Android users that the applications in question has been suspended in the Google Play store.