By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
10alert.com10alert.com10alert.com
  • Threats
    • WordPress ThreatsDanger
    Threats
    A cyber or cybersecurity threat is a malicious act that seeks to damage data, steal data, or disrupt digital life in general. Cyber threats include…
    Show More
    Top News
    Versatile Threats: Dangers for any Device – Kaspersky Daily
    1 year ago
    Kaspersky Internet Security for Android wins independent anti-virus testing
    1 year ago
    DEF CON 23: Tell me who you are and I will tell you your lock screen pattern
    1 year ago
    Latest News
    Patchstack Alliance Bounty Program Events for December
    1 day ago
    Your Smart Coffee Maker is Brewing Up Trouble
    2 days ago
    Earn up to $10,000 for Vulnerabilities in WordPress Software
    2 days ago
    Fake CVE-2023-45124 Phishing Scam Tricks Users Into Installing Backdoor Plugin
    2 days ago
  • Fix
    Fix
    Troubleshooting guide you need when errors, bugs or technical glitches might ruin your digital experience.
    Show More
    Top News
    Cloudflare Introduces User Friendly CAPTCHA Alternative Called Turnstile
    1 year ago
    Windows 10 build 19044.1947 (KB5016688) outs as preview
    1 year ago
    How to disable WiFi or Ethernet network adapter on Windows 11
    1 year ago
    Latest News
    How automatically delete unused files from my Downloads folder?
    10 months ago
    Now you can speed up any video in your browser
    10 months ago
    How to restore access to a file after EFS or view it on another computer?
    10 months ago
    18 Proven Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress Site and Improve SEO | 2023 Guide
    11 months ago
  • How To
    How ToShow More
    How to stop, disable, and remove any Android apps — even system ones
    17 hours ago
    Bigger, Better, Cooler in a 2U1N form factor
    Bigger, Better, Cooler in a 2U1N form factor
    2 days ago
    Vulnerability in crypto wallets created online in the early 2010s
    3 days ago
    Use Windows 11 features to inspire creativity, speed up everyday tasks
    4 days ago
    Windows brings nostalgia to the holidays with the return of Windows Ugly Sweaters, this year featuring the Bliss backdrop
    5 days ago
  • News
    News
    This category of resources includes the latest technology news and updates, covering a wide range of topics and innovations in the tech industry. From new…
    Show More
    Top News
    How to share notes with other users on iPhone?
    1 year ago
    QR code creation service
    1 year ago
    How to copy a link to a specific part of an article in Chrome?
    1 year ago
    Latest News
    Change screen brightness on Windows 11
    2 days ago
    How to share Microsoft 365 Family subscription with other people
    4 days ago
    How to enable random MAC address for Wi-Fi on Windows 10
    4 days ago
    How to join Office apps to Microsoft 365 Insider Program
    4 days ago
  • Glossary
  • My Bookmarks
Reading: A good reason to avoid cheap Android smartphones
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Aa
10alert.com10alert.com
  • Threats
  • Fix
  • How To
  • News
  • Glossary
  • My Bookmarks
  • Threats
    • WordPress ThreatsDanger
  • Fix
  • How To
  • News
  • Glossary
  • My Bookmarks
Follow US
Threats

A good reason to avoid cheap Android smartphones

Tom Grant
Last updated: 13 October
Tom Grant 1 year ago
Share
5 Min Read

Having decided to buy an Android smartphone, one faces a crazy variety of choices. The number of manufacturers is growing, and there are thousands of opinions about which particular device to choose.

Contents
Trojan in a pokeBuy — but verify

Customers are so overwhelmed with all these choices that for most of them, price becomes the main — and sometimes the only — deciding factor. And that’s where smartphones from less-known manufacturers come in: They promise the same features and quality for half the price of what well-known brands offer. Understandably, it’s hard not to be attracted by these generous offerings.

You know what, though? It’s not that simple. Quite often, when you buy a smartphone like that, you also get some hidden extras — for example, some preinstalled malware. Here’s what’s going on.

Trojan in a poke

Android’s big advantage is that it’s a very flexible mobile platform, which makes it popular among developers. Google develops the core software, but any manufacturer can customize it and fill a smartphone with its own native apps to make its products stand out.

Some of that native software is system apps — apps installed by the manufacturer in the /system/app or even the /system/priv-app (priv for “privileged”) folder in an Android device, that cannot be uninstalled by the user. All well and good, but when you add a profit motive, the picture gets a bit murky.

In theory, a manufacturer can fill the system/app (or /priv-app) folder with whatever it thinks customers might find useful. In practice, manufacturers use the opportunity to earn an extra buck, for example, by charging app developers to preinstall their apps. And sometimes, willingly or not, smartphone manufacturers fill the folder with malware.

Preloaded malware can show you ads you can’t avoid, or collect your personal data to sell to third parties — or combine the two intrusions, showing you ads based on that data. It all helps decrease the final price of the device. Nice business model!

A preloaded Trojan that allowed criminals to overlay ads over the OS was found on devices made by relatively big developers such as ZTE, Archos, Prestigio and myPhone. Another investigation found that OnePlus and BLU smartphones were preloaded with spying software that was collecting sensitive personal data and sending it to the manufacturers’ servers.

Funnily enough, most of the manufacturers we mentioned are listed as certified partners on the Android official website. That means that preinstalling malware is becoming something of a common practice, and you can’t simply rely on a well-known manufacturer’s honor.

Buy — but verify

To minimize the risk of purchasing an infected device, or at least to identify a device that will show you advertising in practically every app and collect your personal data without your permission after the purchase, we highly recommend the following:

  • Do your research: Chances are, the phone you’re looking at has already been discussed on the Web — especially if owners are complaining about preinstalled malware.
  • As is often the case, if something looks too good to be true, perhaps it is too good to be true. It may be wise to avoid smartphones that are radically less expensive than comparable models — it’s not unlikely that their manufacturers are using some shady practices to recoup the money that isn’t on the price tag.
  • Check the certification status of your Android device to be sure that its firmware has been tested by Google. Certification doesn’t guarantee that there’s no malware preinstalled, but certified devices are significantly less likely to be infected before sale.
  • Install a reliable antivirus utility that will inform and protect you the moment it encounters a malicious program. With malware sometimes installed before a buyer unboxes a new purchase, your smartphone can be infected no matter how safe your behavior.

Source: kaspersky.com

Translate this article

TAGGED: Android, Malware, Software, Threats, Trojan
Tom Grant October 13, 2022 October 7, 2022
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Reddit Telegram Email Copy Link Print

STAY CONECTED

24.8k Followers Like
253.9k Followers Follow
33.7k Subscribers Subscribe
124.8k Members Follow

LAST 10 ALERT

How to stop, disable, and remove any Android apps — even system ones
How To 17 hours ago
Patchstack Alliance Bounty Program Events for December
Patchstack Alliance Bounty Program Events for December
Wordpress Threats 2 days ago
Your Smart Coffee Maker is Brewing Up Trouble
Threats 2 days ago
Bigger, Better, Cooler in a 2U1N form factor
Bigger, Better, Cooler in a 2U1N form factor
Apps 2 days ago
Change screen brightness on Windows 11
News 2 days ago

You Might Also Like

Patchstack Alliance Bounty Program Events for December
Wordpress Threats

Patchstack Alliance Bounty Program Events for December

2 days ago
Threats

Your Smart Coffee Maker is Brewing Up Trouble

2 days ago
Earn up to $10,000 for Vulnerabilities in WordPress Software
Wordpress Threats

Earn up to $10,000 for Vulnerabilities in WordPress Software

2 days ago
Fake CVE-2023-45124 Phishing Scam Tricks Users Into Installing Backdoor Plugin
Wordpress Threats

Fake CVE-2023-45124 Phishing Scam Tricks Users Into Installing Backdoor Plugin

2 days ago
Show More

Related stories

Several Critical Vulnerabilities including Privilege Escalation, Authentication Bypass, and More Patched in UserPro WordPress Plugin
BridesMaid – neuron writes toasts For those very occasions when you need to give out a powerful
The other day Yandex pleased us with the announcement of a new Midi station – an excellent reason to listen
REMIX – remixes of pictures from neural networksCreate, share and correct works
How to download Diablo IV for free and absolutely legallyBlizzard has opened a free
Rostelecom employees were forced to abandon Android and iOS in favor of Aurora.
Previous Next

10 New Stories

Earn up to $10,000 for Vulnerabilities in WordPress Software
Fake CVE-2023-45124 Phishing Scam Tricks Users Into Installing Backdoor Plugin
Short-URL Services May Hide Threats
Vulnerability in crypto wallets created online in the early 2010s
Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (November 20, 2023 to November 26, 2023)
Thrive Theme: Dismiss Tooltip to Privilege Escalation
Previous Next
Hot News
How to stop, disable, and remove any Android apps — even system ones
Patchstack Alliance Bounty Program Events for December
Your Smart Coffee Maker is Brewing Up Trouble
Bigger, Better, Cooler in a 2U1N form factor
Change screen brightness on Windows 11
10alert.com10alert.com
Follow US
© 10 Alert Network. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Customize Interests
  • My Bookmarks
  • Glossary
Go to mobile version
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?