How remove agent Smith Malware from your android How to Remove Agent Smith Virus from your Android | Page 6

3). Thirdly, the core Android Package File (.apk) of the malware extracts a list of
installed apps on the device & scans it for the targeted app. The virus injects
malicious code & ad modules to the .APK Files of the app when found. This way it
infects the legit applications to serve pop-up ads whenever the user opens it.
Some of the legitimate apps such as Whatsapp, Flipkart & Opera Browser have
been reported to be replaced by the malicious versions to serve ads. As per the
researchers, the ads are not malicious. However, the ad fraud scheme initiated by
the hackers will have them earn money for every intentional/unintentional click on
the injected ads.
Not only this, the attack of Agent Smith Malware may also lead to cyber-security
breach, eavesdropping and data theft & banking credentials theft.
Google’s Reaction to the Advertising Malware Attack:
Though the malvertising scheme has been initiated from a third-party app store, the
official Android App Store wasn’t untouched.
The researchers found around 11 infected apps with malicious yet dormant code
components on the Google Play Store. The malicious components were found
associated with the Agent Smith Virus actor.
As soon as Google realized the impact of the malware it took countermeasure step
& removed malicious applications from the Play Store. The Agent Smith virus-
laden apps are no longer available for download.