Regardless of the source, these tell-tale signs can tell if your phone does have a virus. Visiting a malicious website or downloading unlicensed applications could also be sources of viruses. These attachments can be present in text messages, social media messages, or emails. Clicking on a suspicious link or attachment from unknown sources is a common way phones get infected. Phones get viruses the same way computers get viruses. In some cases, you may also notice a decrease in the device’s battery and overall performance. If an Android device gets infected, you’ll mostly see random ads and applications on your phone that you’ve never seen before. Rooting is the equivalent of jailbreaking in Android. Rooted Android phones are more vulnerable to viruses. External apps available on websites and other platforms are not always safe some may contain malicious codes and files. In the years since, it’s appeared sporadically within seemingly innocuous apps on Google Play.How Do I Know if I Have a Virus on My Android?Īndroid devices are more vulnerable to viruses-rooted or not-since the OS allows access to third-party apps not available in the Play Store. Researchers first discovered the Joker malware in 2017. Unsurprisingly, the blog fails to detail any of the malicious actions the app will take once on your phone. The developer posted the app’s terms and conditions on this very sketchy blog. Color Message will also attempt to subscribe you to paid services without your permission. Therefore, you may have to dig into your device’s settings to uninstall the app.Īccording to Pradeo, once the app is installed, it can access your contact list and exfiltrate it over the network.

This is made far more difficult by the fact that Color Message is capable of hiding its app icon after a user installs it. Be absolutely certain that you don’t have the app installed on any of your devices. But that does not remove it from the phones of the victims who downloaded it in the first place.

The good news is that Google has since removed Color Message from its mobile app store.

Color Message app on Google Play infected with Joker malware.

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