Ransomware is becoming more and more popular for electronic criminals, as people get more and more gullible. It’s not a case of crooks discovering new holes and exploits, but rather consumers getting a little too comfortable with their browsing habits and awful security etiquette.
Adult Player is one such app that as security firm Zscaler describes, “leverages pornography to lure victims into downloading and installing it.”
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This ransomware acts as a porn app named “Adult Player” and lures victims who assume it is a pornographic video player. When the victim starts using it, the app silently takes a photo of the victim, which is then displayed on the ransomware screen, along with the ransom message. The app demands a ransom of 500 USD.
The app automatically recognises if the installer’s phone features a front facing camera, then activates it, snapping images of the user at will.
Read more: Lock down and back up: 5 essential ways to secure your devices and data
Once it has its prize, the app locks the phone at the root level, and demands a ransom. It’s extremely scary that one app can boast such an impressive degree of power, but it highlights a few valid points:
Users should ensure that the only install from Trusted Sources checkpoint is ticked. This gives Android the power to shirk apps that aren’t signed or weren’t sourced from the Play Store or another trusted store.
Additionally, usually when an app sounds too good to be true (like with anything in life), it is.
If you happened to install the app, and can’t rid it, Zscaler has the low down on how to remove it from your device. If you haven’t encountered ransomware before, congratulations, but always keep a weary eye open for suspicious apps and games posing as innocent lines of code.
Feature image: Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr
