Although you usually hear that you should install a software update immediately to keep your smartphone safe, things can go wrong at that moment due to a newly discovered Trojan Horse. There is malware in circulation that pretends to be an important update, but can then access your bank details.

 

The Trojan horse pretends to be an official Google Play update. The security company Cyble discovered that the malware Antidot can then completely take over your smartphone. It can see exactly which messages you receive, monitor your camera and detect which keys you press on your keyboard. This means that all passwords you type on an infected smartphone, including your bank account password, can be collected by hackers.

Don't click on the wrong link

It seems that you receive a message that appears to come from Google, stating that you need to update Google Play. If you click on the link in that message, you will go to a website where you can download the so-called update. The language of the website is adapted to the region in which you are located. English, German and French versions have been found, among others. A file is then downloaded that you must install outside the official Play Store, after which you will have the Trojan horse on your phone.

Once you know what to look for, accidentally installing this malware is easy to prevent. For example, it does not make sense for Google to send a message to install an update and then redirect you via a site. If the update was really from Google, you would have gone straight to the Play Store app. Furthermore, Google would never ask to install a file outside the Play Store. On most smartphones you will receive a warning when you want to do this. So you should take that warning seriously and not just click away.

Android banking trojan masquerades as Google Play to steal your data

Install your updates through your phone's built-in Software Update Manager.  Not some link sent to you via email or via social media. 

12 minutes ago, connda said:

Install your updates through your phone's built-in Software Update Manager.  Not some link sent to you via email or via social media. 

Yep, my updates happen automatically