Viruses on Android smartphones are nothing new, but the one wreaking havoc these days is a different gravy. In a recent development, it has been revealed that a new category of Android malware, dubbed Android God Mode, has been flagged by multiple government agencies for its capability of taking total control of the victim’s smartphone. These apps dupe the user by pretending to be utility tools, customer support platforms, and banking apps. What’s the worst part is that once you download any of these, they cannot be simply uninstalled from your phone.
As for its working, the Android God Mode exploits the OS’ accessibility services to establish deep control in a phone. Once you grant all the permissions, the malware can monitor screen activity, track inputs, read messages, and even trigger actions on the user’s behalf.
That’s not it, as this tool can also intercept messages, initiate calls, get hands on contacts, read OTPs, and also use the phone’s camera without the user knowing. Furthermore, overlay attacks are also used to trick users, hiding the real buttons and showing them fake ones on the screen, especially in the case of using a banking app.
The malware is being spread using different phishing links or Whatsapp APK files that look like regular apps.
If you are someone who is looking to identify if your phone is safe or not, then the first thing will be the watch out for is unusual behaviour from any of the apps.
To remove the same, you need to booth the phone into Safe Mode, then go to settings, find the suspicious app manually and uninstall it. Safe mode if necessary, without that, you will be unable to uninstall the app even. And yes, also check if the default launcher has been changed and set it to default.
