Android Smartphones Prone to New Spam Virus

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SpamSoldier engineered to hide traces of malicious activity.

Network security firm Cloudmark has issued a warning to Android handset users regarding a new spam-forwarding botnet.

Known as SpamSoldier, the malicious mobile application, which appears to be confined to the U.S., comes into affect should a user download counterfeit versions of Android games stored on a Hong Kong server as opposed to the central Google Play store.

The copied games are accessed through a text message that promises to deliver free versions of titles such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Angry Birds Star Wars.

"Download Grand Theft Auto 3 & Need for Speed Most Wanted for Android phones for free at http://[redacted].mobi for next 24hrs only!" the message reads.

Should the app be installed, users will notice that the icon disappears from the home screen. The app will then connect to a remote server in order to obtain a list of target numbers, after which it'll commence the sending of spam messages through the infected handset.

"You better have an unlimited message plan or your phone bill may come as a bit of a shock," Cloudmark stressed.

"Compared with PC botnets this was an unsophisticated attack. However, this sort of attack changes the economics of SMS spam, as the spammer no longer has to pay for the messages that are sent if he can use a botnet to cover his costs. Now that we know it can be done, we can expect to see more and more complex attacks that are harder to take down."

Mobile antivirus firm Lookout, a company that recently signed a deal with EE to provide free virus protection for Android next year, added that SpamSoldier is engineered in a way that allows it to become hidden and remove any trace of "malicious activity" by intercepting text replies and hiding outgoing messages.

It was recently revealed that Android's 4.2 malware scanner has a detection rate of 15 percent. The amount of malware itself affecting Google's platform surged during 2012's Q3.

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Zak Islam
Zak Islam
Contributing writer

Zak was a contributing writer at Tom's Guide with a focus on security, networking and general computing. As a fan of any and all news relating to hardware, graphics chips or CPUs, Zak has also written for other tech sites such as Tom's Hardware and Digital Trends.

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24 Comments Comment from the forums
  • azraa
    Well who the frack actually goes anywhere outside GooglePlay for that kind of thing? They deserve the virus.
    Reply
  • Ninjamonkeh
    I dont know if anyone at toms cares but I am 3 more zak anti-android or pro-apple articles away from removing toms from my toolbars and bookmarks. At first it was mildly amusing to see how often he was wrong , its becoming more and more apparent these are either paid apple adverts or writings of a deranged fanboy. I don't care if you believe it or not, just know you are very close to losing 1 reader. Most of the articles are very misleading , or out right wrong.
    Reply
  • sacre
    ninjamonkehI dont know if anyone at toms cares but I am 3 more zak anti-android or pro-apple articles away from removing toms from my toolbars and bookmarks. At first it was mildly amusing to see how often he was wrong , its becoming more and more apparent these are either paid apple adverts or writings of a deranged fanboy. I don't care if you believe it or not, just know you are very close to losing 1 reader. Most of the articles are very misleading , or out right wrong.
    Yea you won't hesitate for one second on bashing apple, but as soon as something negative is said about the Android platform you'll slip into denial and scream "IT AINT TRUE!"

    Both platforms have their downsides, we have to accept that and just work on fixing it as oppose to pretending they don't exist.

    Fanboys all over the damn place. "You like the blue sucker?! YOU SUCK RED IS SUPERIOR!" is basically all you people are doing.

    Reply
  • Ninjamonkeh
    sacreYea you won't hesitate for one second on bashing apple, but as soon as something negative is said about the Android platform you'll slip into denial and scream "IT AINT TRUE!"Both platforms have their downsides, we have to accept that and just work on fixing it as oppose to pretending they don't exist.Fanboys all over the damn place. "You like the blue sucker?! YOU SUCK RED IS SUPERIOR!" is basically all you people are doing.
    Who is denying anything? To side-load a app on android it you have to click a box warning you of exactly what is happening. I come to this site for unbiased tech information. When i see a article saying Android phones are prone to something i read it to make sure im not at risk. Then i find out OMG 3rd party shady Chinese android warez sites might have viruses!!!!! Over time i start seeing the same person writing all these misleading articles. At the same time I also notice alot of "Apple's shit is solid gold and smells like roses" articles by the same author. This makes me worry that the site I use for unbiased tech information might be selling good press to Apple.

    on a side note I'd like to say I dont hate apple. I believe both phones have their ups and downs, I just prefer Android cause I like to tinker with my phone.
    Reply
  • jerm1027
    sacreYea you won't hesitate for one second on bashing apple, but as soon as something negative is said about the Android platform you'll slip into denial and scream "IT AINT TRUE!"Both platforms have their downsides, we have to accept that and just work on fixing it as oppose to pretending they don't exist.Fanboys all over the damn place. "You like the blue sucker?! YOU SUCK RED IS SUPERIOR!" is basically all you people are doing.I don't think he ever denied Android having it's flaws, but it would obtuse to say Zak is unbiased. It's clear that this article has a slant and at the bottom, Zak referenced his own articles (with biased sources) to further discredit Android's security. There is only so much an operating system can do to protect itself from its user(s), and this spam virus requires user interaction to infect the device.

    Again, the virus is laced into games and "the copied games are accessed through a text message that promises to deliver free versions of titles." That has malware written all over it to anyone with common sense.
    Reply
  • The issue is not whether the article is correct or not 'sacre'. If you actually read octacon72's post you'll notice he/she doesn't call the credibility of that article into account, what he questions is the insistence of Toms (& imho several other US based publications) on continually beating up anything that can be perceived as a negative about the android OS, while at the same time Toms appears to me to play down the flaws that have been exposed in IoS and now also windows 8 telecommunication devices.
    It isn't about which phone is better, anyone with half a brain knows that is a subjective determination made by consumers after they analyse information from a variety of sources ranging from objective engineering data to their neighbour's take on his new handheld love affair.

    This is about Toms Hardware either maintaining its reputation as an objective source or becoming just another spruiker for a select range of corporate 'friends'.
    Most of us use Toms because we trust you guys not to unfairly weight your stories with subjective garbage. To give every brand the same objective analysis. That is why I am here but like octacon I have noticed that what began as less than truthful coverage of the myriad samsung Vs apple lawsuits around this planet has now crept into other areas of Toms reporting.

    The US is going through a tough time, we get it but if Tom's decides for some perverse and ill-informed reason that they should take sides on their reporting and somehow put toms thumb on the scales so that products likely to create more US wealth are favoured, it will back fire and global consumers will do as many have already done with samsung. That is assume that 'poor little Samsung' is an underdog and buy their products even when the engineering doesn't stack up.

    A classic example is the cisco huawei contest. As soon as cisco leant on US politicians to put out press releases claiming that huawei metworking hardware is insecure, providing no evidence to substantiate that claim, net heads in my country pressured government to ensure that the taxpayer funded fibre optic rollout only used huawei hardware. The pressure back-fired because the play was too obvious.

    Reply
  • QEFX
    ninjamonkehWho is denying anything? Yada Yada Yada
    You realize this is Toms and not a high end tech site .... Toms the TMZ of Tech sites.
    Reply
  • madjimms
    Simple solution is simple, fire Zak....
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    DisherA classic example is the cisco huawei contest. As soon as cisco leant on US politicians to put out press releases claiming that huawei metworking hardware is insecure, providing no evidence to substantiate that claim, net heads in my country pressured government to ensure that the taxpayer funded fibre optic rollout only used huawei hardware. The pressure back-fired because the play was too obvious.Worst example ever. Your "net heads" sound more like politicians, who don't care about the technical details as long as it fits their agenda. Huawei is shady and their network hardware is full of more holes than swiss cheese, probably half of them intentional. Just Google it, Huawei security is a complete joke.

    You also mentioned Samsung... they're Korean, and they're OK in my book. My current phone is Samsung, and my next phone will be Samsung or possibly HTC. Not ZTE, no way. Same with Huawei routers, no thanks. I don't mind buying foreign hardware, but I'd much prefer something from a Japanese, Korean, or Taiwanese firm.
    Reply
  • maddad
    MadjimmsSimple solution is simple, fire Zak....Simple solution; if you don't like Zak's articles then quit reading them!
    Reply