I downloaded a "fake" app from the play store. It was a fake version of Adaway, I didn't know it was no longer on the Play Store and I forgot to back it up. The one I downloaded was just a bunch of ads for crappy apps/games. Should I be worried or anything? I gave it the regular app permissions (view contacts, messages, blah blah). I did a scan with AVG mobile and got the real Adaway and I don't notice anything wrong atm.
I feel really dumb for falling for such a obvious trick. The app on the Play Store was removed literally within 20 minutes of me installing then uninstalling it. that is what has me most worried.
I'd still be worried. Fake app might have just been a vehicle for the ads. But may have also contain other exploits that AVG might not know about or be able to detect yet.
Factory reset and start from scratch, if you want to remove all doubt.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app
I wiped, reflashed, and changed my passwords. Hope I'll be smart enough not to do this again .
Related
My wife and I both recently started getting spam adds in our notification windows. we havent downloaded anything new or anything and we're trying to figure out what app would be causing it. We both use Lookout security which says there is no malware.
Maybe it's lookout security?! I've never messed with it but I believe with titanium backup you can freeze apps to keep them from running. Otherwise, i'm not sure. It's an app your both running though and probably not a standard app so that should rule out a bit. All you can do otherwise is uninstall apps til the ads go away. I'd most suspect a game, myself.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G running CM7/franco.Kernel
Download an app called AdFree from the Market and install hosts and reboot. See if that helps
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Search for 'addons detector' app from market, run it and it will list what apps are using. look for any using airpush and uninstall.
Hi, im new to the htc one s crowd as i got one at the weekend
im now getting games and apps appearing i never installed, bejeweled 2 being one, i have had 4 different games show up so far
when i open the games i get a message saying "This phone needs to make a connection to check your licence. This is always FREE in the UK. Please ensure you are using your 3 mobile connection and not wifi" i uninstalled them and they all show 0.00kb in size and 4.00kb in size if i have opened them.
this is annoying me as i have had various android phones and this is the first time i have had a problem (dont worry im not blaming the htc i know its just bad timing)
cheers in advance
Have you tried to install an anti-virus app like avast or avg?
If I helped in any way please hit thanks
i have 4 different antivirus/malware, avg, avast, norton and some security one i cant remember the name of, all scans come back as OK
avast was the second thing i installed on my phone and it has been running since
I recommend you to install DR.WEB or avast anti virus
In play store find bejeweled 2 and see if it says "installed" or not... See if the new apps are real or not but id guess not.
Also you should change your Google account password from a known safe computer, someone could have installed stuff via play store website. Good stuff here: http://arstechnica.com/security/201...-smartphone-against-stalkers-android-edition/
Delete the apps from your phone system I use system tuner to do it. That's if it isn't on your sd card
Sent from my HTC One S using xda premium
gtanny said:
Hi, im new to the htc one s crowd as i got one at the weekend
im now getting games and apps appearing i never installed, bejeweled 2 being one, i have had 4 different games show up so far
when i open the games i get a message saying "This phone needs to make a connection to check your licence. This is always FREE in the UK. Please ensure you are using your 3 mobile connection and not wifi" i uninstalled them and they all show 0.00kb in size and 4.00kb in size if i have opened them.
this is annoying me as i have had various android phones and this is the first time i have had a problem (dont worry im not blaming the htc i know its just bad timing)
cheers in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the google backup service enabled? Sounds like its trying to restore games you might have previously had, perhaps on another phone.
It could also be depending on where he bought it if they didn't factory reset then it could transfer or so I'm told so I'd factory reset and see
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda app-developers app
If you use apks, I suggest removing them.
Sent from my locked, tampered ville
Hey does anyone know why I have advertisements popping up on my phone all the time?
It's random and occurs in all apps and I checked for virus with a scanner and it doesn't say anything. Has anyone had this issue before and know a solution? Idk what I clicked that might have caused this bug. Ads usually are games that lead me to the play store and not anything explicit (if that helps)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
x10user2011 said:
Hey does anyone know why I have advertisements popping up on my phone all the time?
It's random and occurs in all apps and I checked for virus with a scanner and it doesn't say anything. Has anyone had this issue before and know a solution? Idk what I clicked that might have caused this bug. Ads usually are games that lead me to the play store and not anything explicit (if that helps)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Start in safe mode see if they still show up
If it is in games, if you're rooted try downloading an ad blocker. Since they blocked it from the Play Store you will need to Google it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
markdapimp said:
Start in safe mode see if they still show up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that, it's ads popping up in places such as SMS or music and it's weird..
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
You have something installed doing it. What did you last install before it happened?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
x10user2011 said:
It's not that, it's ads popping up in places such as SMS or music and it's weird..
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still safe mode will disable all third party apps and any potential malware on your phone
think of it as a fail safe boot like how Windows has it
Heres how to get into it
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2852139?hl=en
how to get out of it? just shutdown your phone as you normally would and start it back
This is odd. Have you downloaded something from outside the play store? Do you have unknown sources enabled? If you didn't, then something is horribly wrong here. If you did download and install any APK, delete it.
If this is something from the Play Store itself, we have to report it.
To be completely safe, as others said, run the phone in safe mode. If they still pop up, flash the factory image...something went wrong. If they don't, it's an app.
markdapimp said:
Still safe mode will disable all third party apps and any potential malware on your phone
think of it as a fail safe boot like how Windows has it
Heres how to get into it
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2852139?hl=en
how to get out of it? just shutdown your phone as you normally would and start it back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is also another trick that I found some days ago.....restart the phone and then let the google logo go, when the boot animation starts keep pressing the volume down button untill u get to the lock screen....ur safe mode should be there
x10user2011 said:
Hey does anyone know why I have advertisements popping up on my phone all the time?
It's random and occurs in all apps and I checked for virus with a scanner and it doesn't say anything. Has anyone had this issue before and know a solution? Idk what I clicked that might have caused this bug. Ads usually are games that lead me to the play store and not anything explicit (if that helps)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please take a screenshot of such an ad to help us see what the problem might be. Also have a look at installed apps to see which one may be causing it.(preferably list all 3rd party apps you have installed, or simply a couple of screenshots)
Also as mentioned you should try safe mode(long press the "turn off" button in the power menu), to see if it still happens.(if not, it is one of your 3rd party apps.)
You could try and use a nifty app from the Play store called AirPush detector. It will look through your phone to look through which apps might be showing you unwanted advertisements.
Sent from my Nexus 5
It was definitely an app that you installed, there are some apps in the playstore that if you install them will show ads. This is sketchy but I guess they want to make money somehow....
this is how many free games/apps stay free
mistahseller said:
It was definitely an app that you installed, there are some apps in the playstore that if you install them will show ads. This is sketchy but I guess they want to make money somehow....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simms22 said:
this is how many free games/apps stay free
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Click to collapse
Popup ads? I understand ads in the game, but I've never seen ads that pop up in system apps. That's not allowed per the google play TOS. I'll be sure to report them if you give me the names of them. I have apps on there too, and most of them don't have ads, but the ones that do are always unobtrusive.
aooga said:
Popup ads? I understand ads in the game, but I've never seen ads that pop up in system apps. That's not allowed per the google play TOS. I'll be sure to report them if you give me the names of them. I have apps on there too, and most of them don't have ads, but the ones that do are always unobtrusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I can't remember what app it was it was on my nexus 4, I installed something and everytime I would hit home it would popup like a sys warning message but it would be an ad.
I would run a virus/malware scan and stop using questionable apps.
jd1639 said:
...stop using questionable apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. People keep complaining about Android having viruses when they're downloading all kinds of things like "free smileys" from random sites. 99.9% of the time, Google Play has clean apps, but there are still some apps that Google needs to filter out better. They need to completely ban air push and other notification ads or really anything that doesn't stay within the app.
EDIT: This wasn't meant to bash the OP. I'm talking about other people, and hopefully the OP didn't download this kind of stuff.
aooga said:
Popup ads? I understand ads in the game, but I've never seen ads that pop up in system apps. That's not allowed per the google play TOS. I'll be sure to report them if you give me the names of them. I have apps on there too, and most of them don't have ads, but the ones that do are always unobtrusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea. these apps open in the background. and since they are "open", their ads pop up. these arent the same kinds of ads that open in the app itself, theyll open in the status bar or just pop up. again, they are usually included in free apps/games that are usually of lower quality.
simms22 said:
yea. these apps open in the background. and since they are "open", their ads pop up. these arent the same kinds of ads that open in the app itself, theyll open in the status bar or just pop up. again, they are usually included in free apps/games that are usually of lower quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought Google banned that? http://phandroid.com/2013/09/30/google-play-notification-ads-policy/
aooga said:
I thought Google banned that? http://phandroid.com/2013/09/30/google-play-notification-ads-policy/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks that way.
but there are certain conditions that these app makers can use those ads.
simms22 said:
looks that way.
but there are certain conditions that these app makers can use those ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. That's dumb. Oh well, I would never download any of those shady apps anyway, and neither would most people, but I still wish Google would have a bit more strict guidelines.
[Q] Perhaps A New Android Virus Discovered? Anyone Else Seen "Plåÿ Störé One Two"?
No idea how it could have installed itself on my phone (the last app I installed was WO Mic, from the Google Play Store. I have this on another phone but it didn't get this virus from it). Just woke up today, and found it on here. It seems to have replaced the actual legit Google Play Store. I looked in the /system/app directory, the app is called Phonesky.apk. I looked this up online, one other person has/had my problem. He said even the Verify and Install option is infected, showing "Verify and Install one two three", but I can't confirm if that is on my phone because my phone never had Verify and Install to begin with, and even when I select to install an APK it does not appear.
Besides factory reset, is there anything I can do? I will try to put some sort of antivirus on the phone, but the other guy I saw who had this problem said his Norton Mobile Security didn't pick anything up.
I will soon be uploading both the Phonesky.apk as well as the Phonesky.odex file, just in case any of you devs want to tear down the package and look at it or analyze it or whatever. In the meantime, here's some pictures I took of it. Please refer to attachments to see them.
Sent from my MB855 using XDA Free mobile app
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EDIT: Here is the download link for Phonesky.apk:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=10545304012778252420
And for Phonesky.odex:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=82284699703301985381
I probably don't have to say this, but just as a warning, UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, I'D SUGGEST THAT YOU DO NOT INSTALL ANY OF THESE FILES ON YOUR PHONE SINCE IT PROBABLY WILL INFECT YOUR PHONE IF YOU DO IT.
Also, I've noticed that this virus imitates Google Talk as well. No, not Hangouts, the old Google Talk. I did not have Talk installed on that phone before this virus came around. I don't see a Talk-like app in the app drawer, however I do get notifications of messages in the notification bar. The messages it notifies me for are actually legitimate messages I've received. I'm having a Hangouts conversation on my primary phone, and every time I get an incoming message from my friend, it shows up on the infected phone as well. When I try to actually press the Talk notification to see if it opens a fake Talk app or anything, it doesn't actually open anything.
EDIT 2: I uploaded a picture of fake Gtalk. Also, Zoner Antivirus did not detect anything wrong, even though I saw that it scanned over something called "Google Play Store one two three".
It's been a while, but I just wanted to say that factory reset did get rid of it for me. Others have said that the system language switched to Deutsch, and they switched it back to English and everything was fine. However for me, my phone remained in English the whole time. It also seems weird that this only happened on phones running Gingerbread...
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app
Hey everyone,
I've had my Nexus 5 since its initial release on CyanogenMod or various other stable ROMs. Anyways just today I began seeing these small, but obnoxious ads in-app. I don't download random apps, click on random bs links, or visit/browse through shady websites.
The ads are a wide rectangle near the top of the screen. There's a little x at the top left and an 'opt out' on the bottom right. It leads to a web page that essentially wants you to submit your IMEI, device ID and other information...or download/install an apk to "automatically" opt out of the ads.
I installed a few different antivirus/security apps to no avail of isolating any sort of virus/malware. I then ran the optout.apk through said antivirus apps and it came clean. So against my better judgement I installed the app and opted out, then deleted the application as instructed.
The ads still populate over my screen while using most apps - Google Play, Candy Crush, Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.
I've had Android devices dating back to the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant and I have not come across anything like this.
*Anyone else having this issue or know anything about it?*
P.S. While writing this post, I tried to include a screen shot but of course now the ads aren't showing themselves. I'll update the post when it inevitably returns.
Thank you all for your attention.
Sounds dodgy mate, I recommend you clean wipe and flash with no app backups restored.
I too had this. i wiped my phone clean, everything. then installed new rom and started afresh. i tried alsorts too but it became a joke.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
My friends this happens having installed some apps related to wallpaper and backgrounds ... you maybe installed "aquarium 3d" or "backgrounds premiumHD" of "Pixign"? still come this way ...
What above comment says is true. There are some apps on the Play Store that enforce random ads around your daily usage.
I would recommend clean flashing, using AdAway(you can find on Google) and lastly, keep a close eye on what happens after each app is installed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
PinoDG said:
My friends this happens having installed some apps related to wallpaper and backgrounds ... you maybe installed "aquarium 3d" or "backgrounds premiumHD" of "Pixign"? still come this way ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only type of wallpaper app I had was "Premium Wallpaper HD." Looking at its reviews this app is the cause of these popups! . Obviously got rid of it but I will continue to assess the situation in case there are any other apps causing issues. Thank you!
Curiousn00b said:
What above comment says is true. There are some apps on the Play Store that enforce random ads around your daily usage.
I would recommend clean flashing, using AdAway(you can find on Google) and lastly, keep a close eye on what happens after each app is installed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turned out "Premium Wallpaper HD" was causing this mayhem. I've deleted all traces of this app and will continue to monitor the situation. I'll clean flash a new ROM over the weekend, just in case. Also installed AdAway for any further issues. Appreciate the help. :good: