Smartphone problem...?

Hi guys. I don't normally start threads, but I had a strange (to me, at least..) thing happen last night with my new android phone. It's nothing special..an Alcatel dual sim running 2.3 gingerbread, but it's my first android device.

I unboxed it, charged and had a little play...connected to my wifi and went straight to ATS, but when I clicked on the link, it automatically began to download an .apk called "sexmania" or similar. So I immediately cancelled the download. Then when I clicked on "New Topics" the same thing happened... an ,apk called "porn...something". Now I know .apk's are android installer packages, so do I have to install a spyware or anti-virus or anything? I'm basically a noob when it comes to android, so, any advice?

I had this happen to a friend, (not clicking on ATS but another site) and it turned out his wi-fi connection had been hacked. I would check to see if anything is or has used your wi-fi connection.

I'm running Sophos Antivirus on my Samsung GS3 ( Android 4.1.2 ) and found it to be quite good.

I do recommend doing a factory reset and wiping all data though to be on the safe side.

Do you have root access on your device ?

You better install Antivirus in your phone . I have installed Avast in my Android phone recently . Previously I had AVG .

Oh Yeah before installing anything , Reset your phone to Factort settings . Don't forget to wipe out SD Card too

reply to post by Toromos


Thanks. That's not a bad idea. I'll have to fire up Backtrack and have a look.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Looks like that's the solution. I've had a pretty good run with avast on my pc's so I might give it a try first. It just really threw me because it was, quite literally, the first thing I did on a brand new, out of the box phone. I'll do a reset, root the phone, and install avast. Thanks again for the help.

I fail to see how a "hacked WLAN" would lead to sex related APKs being installed on your phone.

I also fail to see what you are trying to achieve with backtrack, when you could simply check your AP interface for rogue MAC's / IPs that are connected to your AP.

My advice: Factory reset of the phone, the idea of a "Hacked WLAN installs sex apps on my phone" is absurd.

reply to post by H1ght3chHippie

100% correct.

Where did you buy the Phone from ? Is it a Chinese knock-off ? (Dual sim is the norm for them )

Reset to factory settings. Looks like you have a rouge .apk downloading junk. Anti-virus on Android is a waste of time and a resource hog. They dont opperate the same way as on a PC. Many many tests have proven this, google it or go to www.xda-developers.com... and read countless threads about it ( Obviously device specific ) Android ROMs are pretty much *nix distros and the architecture is different to Windows.

When downloading .apks ALWAYS check the permissions, If an .apk asks for something strange ~ Like a weather app asks to make phone calls.... DO NOT Install it. Use cracked .apks at your own risk.

Check the state of your WiFi by reading this post on Life Hacker for peace of mind and to show you your WiFi is all good and hopefully very secure !

In fact , Join XDA , find your device specific forum , Find out how to make a "nandroid" back up. Find out how to root the thing and install SuperSU /Super User. Its the best security feature you can have (Apart from common sense) and its free. Very similar to UAC on Windows 7 and if anything asks for "Root Access" it will inform you immediately and ask what you want to do about it.

The maker of SuperSU/SuperUser , "ChainFire" is a legendary Android dev, you can buy him a beer or just say thanks for it .....If you wish , not compulsory at all..

Forgot to mention , If you still have issues downloading rouge .apks from a factory reset, It will be the "ROM" downloading it. So you will either have to flash a new ROM or disable~Freeze some .apks one by one till you have found the culprit.using something like "titanium back up".

If thats the case I'd just flash a new ROM ( stock or custom like a Kang or CM7/9 based ROM) and remove all the bloat as this will free up storage and get rid of the problem.But hopefully the reset will work just fine for you.

Good luck and let us all know how you get on !

Originally posted by Flatcoat
Hi guys. I don't normally start threads, but I had a strange (to me, at least..) thing happen last night with my new android phone. It's nothing special..an Alcatel dual sim running 2.3 gingerbread, but it's my first android device.

The first thing i would do is try to update the operating system. The latest data from Google shows that 44 percent of Android users are still on "Gingerbread," or versions 2.3.3 through 2.3.7, which was released two years ago. Gingerbread has a number of security vulnerabilities which have been fixed in later versions.

It probably won't run anything higher then 2.3

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but I've been out of town working and didn't want to use the phone for data. I tried avast anti-virus and no luck. Connected to my wifi went to ATS and same thing, It took me straight to some porn page and started downloading an .apk, so today I'll root the phone and do the super-user thing. All the apps came with the phone, so I don't know which one could be the prob, but I'll uninstall anything I dont need and try it. If that doesn't work, I'll think about flashing....anyway, thanks again and I'll post the result later.