Android SMS worm punts dodgy downloads... from your MATES Internet ne'er-do-wells have put together a strain of Android malware that spreads like a email worm rather than acting like a conventional trojan. Selfmite spreads by automatically sending a text message to contacts in the infected phone’s address book. Theses SMS messages contain a URL that redirects to the malware: ‘Dear [ …
I thought things like viruses, worms, trojans etc all managed to either spread themselves directly, or by sneaking inside other bits of software.
This looks more like the "delete system32", or "sudo rm -Rf /" line of attack.
This relies on a user:
1. Enabling installation from untrusted sources (isn't this normally only done by fairly advanced users, with a clue?)
2. Following an extremely suspicious link, in badly worded English, with nonsensical content
3. Downloading an app from the linked site
4. Installing the app
And at the end of all that, it installs an (easily removable, and harmless) app.
Hardly self-spreading, or even particularly worrying, is it?
> Do people really click these links ??
Yes, "people" do. That's why the scams exist.
I hope you're not implying those people are somehow stupid. E.g., a surgeon could not be so au-fait with mobile computing technology and its use or misuse, but he can save lives while you stand there shaking your head.
AFAICS the only difference between this and time-honoured scams dating back to the stone age is that the dubious message from one of your contacts, replete with breathless exhortations to follow the link / open the attachment / send it to everyone you know, arrives by SMS rather than email.
"Internet ne'er-do-wells have put together a strain of Android malware that spreads like a email worm rather than acting like a conventional trojan. Selfmite spreads by automatically sending a text message to contacts in the infected phone’s address book"
Since this malware can't get onto the device or get activated without the enduser visiting a compromised site and downloading and activating the malware, then it isn't technically speaking - a WORM ..
@TeeCee: "AFAICS the only difference between this and time-honoured scams dating back to the stone age is that the dubious message from one of your contacts"
One wonders what was the mental age of the first person that clicked-and-installed the self-time app?
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