A Red flag is being waved by security researchers on a malicious ‘ransomware’ known as ‘Adult Player’. The American security firm, Zscaler (via), revealed that the malware, which it masked as a pornography application, secretly takes photos of the user with the front-facing camera, and then uses them for blackmailing and demanding a $500 ransom via PayPal.
Before you start blaming Android, note that Adult Player is unavailable on Google’s official Play Store; you have to download an APK file and sideload it, blatantly telling the system to switch off all shields in order for this ransomware to work.
Like we always warn users, it is not recommended to download unknown and untrusted programs from sources you know nothing about. This pornographic application should only make you more cautious about viruses entering your smartphone.
Here is what the Adult Player application looks like and how it threatens the users:
It throws several accusations to frighten its careless users: “Your device has been blocked for safety reasons listed below. All your files are encrypted. You are accused of viewing/storage and/or dissemination of banned pornography (child pornography/zoophilia/rape etc.)”
The malware keeps running and asking for money even after you reboot your device. If you’re among the affected, the solution is to boot your Android device in Safe Mode, where it is possible to select and disable the program. However, like we said earlier, avoid all third-party applications, because prevention is the best remedy!