14 DAY TRIAL // NetQin Mobile, a mobile security software provider, has recently announced that it has identified another dangerous virus on Android devices, dubbed “Hong Tou Tou.” This is the second piece of Android malware virus identified by NetQin Mobile, after the one known as “MSO.PJApps” discovered last month.
While “MSO.PJApps” was said to cause private data leaks and to secretly subscribe users to paid services, the recently identified “Hong Tou Tou” is even more dangerous.
The virus will attempt to connect to a network in the background and will collect private information stored in the phone, encrypt it and send it to a remote server controlled by the author.
According to NetQin Mobile, the virus has been spotted in China and spreads by hiding itself in perfectly legitimate applications such as RoboDefense.
In addition to the above mentioned actions, the “Hong Tou Tou” virus is also capable of analyzing private data and sending it to a remote server. Apparently, the virus uses certain keywords to search and find interesting information.
Even though the virus seems to target only Chinese users for the moment, there's no telling if or when this might spread to other territories.
However, it seems that the mobile software security developer that identified the virus also found a solution to the threat and updated its virus database to ensure that Android device users are protected against the intrusion.
NetQin Mobile also suggests that those who do not use anti-virus software must be alert for unusual behaviors of their phones, such as “rogue” network connections and SMS. It is also recommended to closely monitor permissions requested by applications upon installation.
For those who wish to protect their devices against such threats, NetQin’s Mobile Anti-virus 4.6 for Android is available as a free download from Softpedia.