First Drive-By Malware Sites Discovered for Android

Now that browsing the internet via a mobile device has become a norm, malware has also followed in that path. Lookout Mobile Security discovered some websites that have been designed in such a way that they only attack and infect Android devices on which the pages are loaded on. The websites which have not been identified publicly yet, operate as “drive-by malware vectors” and if an Android device visits the webpage knowingly or otherwise without being fully patched up, the alleged malware will automatically install itself onto your device unbeknownst to the user.

According to the folks over at Lookout Mobile Security, how the malware which is called “NotCompatible” gets through to the phone is by checking the victim’s browser user-agent string to confirm if it is an Android device that is being used to access it. If it gets the green light it uploads the Trojan for a low-profile installation. The security firm also states that the number of sites like that is still very low in quantity but it might be a worrying start to a new trend. For now it appears that NotCompatible doesn’t necessarily harm the device on which it perches itself in it can be used to gain illicit access to private networks by turning the Android device in question into a proxy.

If you want to reduce the risk of your Android device getting hit by “NotCompatible”, the security firm has released a few steps that could prevent your device from getting infected. Firstly you can turn off the “Install from unknown sources” option in the ‘Settings > Applications’ menu which will effectively stop the malware from automatically initiating the installation or you could get yourself a mobile anti-virus application like AVG or Avast which are both free and work just fine.

Pradeep Chandrasekaran
Categories: Cellphones, Tablets, Web
Tags: Malware, trojan, virus