Deceptive advertising viruses running rampant in India: Cheetah Mobile

A report by Cheetah Mobile Security Research Lab reveals that mobile malware has been running rampant in India. According to data collected by the firm, out of all the infected devices across the globe, 17.8 percent are from India. The report also claims that almost 45 percent of the infected phones are dealing with the following top 10 viruses:

Needless to say, budget Android phones are extremely popular in India. But, according to the report, some of these come pre-loaded with viruses even before they reach users in the country. Popular porn site PornHub had revealed that India takes the third spot when it comes to global porn viewership as of January 2016. Last year, the government had asked (ISPs to block 857 porn sites, but soon the ban was partially lifted. Porn websites are among the most popular channels to spread malware, adds the report. Some of these malware also focus on making profit by spreading deceptive advertising.

Cheetah Mobile report talks about several typical categories of these deceptive advertising viruses, which keep producing pop-ups on the phone. They also consume your network traffic by downloading unnecessary and even harmful apps. Deceptive advertising takes different forms. While turning on or charging your phone, the virus is prompted to display full-screen advertisement. Once you click on it, the virus will start downloading unnecessary apps/malwares to your phone.

While installing or uninstalling apps, the virus triggers pop-up ads that are disguised as return and close icon. When an app is running, a virus could pop up an ad covering the complete interface. Even when exiting an app, a virus could trick users into clicking and installing unnecessary app. Some users may also see random app suggestions on their screen.

The report adds that 5 out of 10 viruses infecting most phones in India are root trojans. These will then try to root infected devices. Antivirus tools should come with root privilege in order to kill these Trojans. It is the lack of network security knowledge as the prime reason why mobile viruses are running rampant in India.