Kaspersky researchers have found that one in four Android users is infected via fake apps with adult content
Seeing porn movies on an Android smartphone endangers the security of their device. Raising the alarm is Kaspersky, a company specializing in computer security, which in a report published online shows how 25% of Android malware is spread via fake porn apps.
Kaspersky researchers calculate that in 2017 Android smartphones infected with a virus were just under 5 million. One in four was infected via apps that promised to show adult content. A very high number (1.2 million smartphones) that shows how much interest there is from users on the subject. The strategy used by the hackers is certainly not innovative, sexual malware has always existed and ensures a secure source of income. In 2017, for example, a fake porn app allowed hackers to earn almost a million dollars.
How many Android porn malware
Kaspersky researchers found that malware belongs to 23 different families of viruses and that in most cases they are trojans that try to steal bank account data, ransomware or adware. In some cases, trojans do nothing but open malicious advertisements from which hackers make money. Smartphone ransomware, on the other hand, works in the same way as computer ransomware: the virus blocks the use of the device by entering a new password for unlocking and until the user pays the ransom he will not be able to use the phone
Kaspersky wanted to emphasize that this type of malware does not affect iOS devices. And the reason is quite simple. On iPhones and iPads it is not possible to install applications from outside the App Store. This is different for Android, where users can download apps from third-party stores as well. And it is precisely on this type of online market that hackers spread fake porn apps with which they infect people's devices. In fact, it is not possible to place sex apps on the Google Play Store.
How to defend yourself against fake porn apps
Downloading an app from a market other than the Google Play Store is always a danger. The protections are minimal and there is no control over the apps released by software houses. For this reason hackers use them to publish their viruses. This alone should make users think twice about downloading apps with adult content from unofficial markets.
Also, as Kaspersky experts suggest, adult content should be viewed from safe sources and not through unknown apps.