Chinese Android smartphones come equipped with malware

By Williams Pelegrin June 16, 2014

chinese android smartphones come equipped malware star n9500 — Image: eBay Image used with permission by copyright holder

If we were you, we’d avoid purchasing the Star N9500 Android smartphone, as a report from German website Heise states that the Chinese smartphone is pre-installed with the Uupay.D trojan.

The malware, which acts as the Google Play Store, collects and copies personal information and uses the phone’s microphone to broadcast phone calls and anything else you’re saying while near the phone to hackers. In addition, text messages will be sent to costly premium services. This caused one Kaspersky security researcher to say that the N9500 “comes from the factory with an extensive espionage program.”

The unfortunate part of all this is the wide availability of the N9500. You can currently buy the handset on eBay for as little as $168 through several sellers, and it doesn’t help that the N9500 bears an uncanny resemblance to the Samsung Galaxy S4. Well over 50 units have been sold, so hopefully they read this before too much personal information gets exposed.

While smartphones usually don’t have malware pre-installed, it isn’t necessarily a new topic when it comes to Android. Earlier this year, security company F-Secure reported that Android was targeted in 97 percent of mobile malware attacks all throughout 2013.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

Mobile

The Oppo Find N will be among the first foldables to try Android 13 Beta 1

Oppo Find N camera open.

The promises of Android 13 are enough to get any Android user excited, but Oppo smartphone owners won't have to wait to see what the next major update to the operating system has in store. The Find N is Oppo's flagship foldable and already supports the Android 13 Beta 1 for users in China while the Find X5 Pro supports the first beta across the globe.

Although it's certainly exciting to have the chance to try out the Android 13 Beta on a regular smartphone, Google showcased the software update's focus on tablets and foldables at the company's I/O keynote yesterday. Specifically, the Find N was highlighted during the presentation and now owners will be able to see what the big deal is for themselves.

Mobile

Nothing founder teases company’s first Android smartphone

Nothing Ear 1 app's gesture control settings.

Carl Pei, founder of Nothing, has teased that the London-based consumer technology startup is working on its very first Android smartphone.

Rumors about a smartphone being developed by Nothing sprang up in October 2021, nine months after the ex-cofounder of OnePlus left the Chinese smartphone maker to launch the very company that reminds Greek mythology buffs of Odysseus calling himself Nobody. On Tuesday, Pei sent out a tweet that seems to corroborate those rumors.

Mobile

Dynamic theming is coming to all Android 12 devices soon

Android 12's Material You design language with wallpaper-based theming.

Android 12 brings a major visual overhaul, but many of its visual improvements, including dynamic color theming, have been limited to Google's own Pixel lineup of smartphones. However, Google has now confirmed that Android 12's "Monet" theming engine for responsive color selection in the user interface will go live for all Android 12 devices very soon.

When Google first revealed the long list of features arriving with Android 12, Material You was one of the central elements aimed at appealing to users. The third iteration of Google's Material Design, Material You, is fashioned with the intent to allow users to customize their Android phones to match their personalities. As we noted above, the feature has been limited to Pixel smartphones. Google is now making it mandatory for manufacturers to include support for Material You on every device that runs — or is updated to — Android 12.