Over a million Android phones infected with a strain of malware called Gooligan

From the beginning of August, Gooligan strain has infected 1.3 million Android phones, stealing tokens from devices in order to impersonate the user’s Google account. The motive? To force users to download apps as a part of an advertising fraud scheme. The strain has been generating as much as $320,000 per month and still spreading. Latest figures estimate that 13,000 new infections are happening daily. PSafe has the ability to locate previously unidentified viruses to keep users safe. Check to see if your account is safe by clicking the button below:

This particular malware can do a number of things on the users’ phones, including ranking apps, downloading apps, stealing photos and files from Google Docs and even has the ability of posting illegitimate app reviews. Users are misled into downloading this malware as it poses as legitimate software from a variety of places, including porn sites and 3rd party app stores.

PSafe has identified more than 4,000 different strands of this same malware, meaning that the hacker used an original file and changed some parts of the code to generate new signatures in an attempt to bypass virus checkers that rely solely on signature checking. The latest strain has the ability to create duplicate versions that can’t be blocked by conventional antivirus software. Generally, it takes some time for AVs to update malware databases, so all the hacker needs to do is duplicate the virus during that process to be untraceable.

PSafe’s Security Specialists have some tips about how users can protect their phones:

Only install certified apps: The main way to reduce these type of risks is to confirm if the app is available on the official Google Play Store.

Pay attention to permissions: The permissions requested of you should be compatible with the app’s needs.

Use strong passwords: Weak passwords are ideal for hackers. The best solution is to use a strong password with more than 10 characters, including lowercase and capital letters, numbers and special characters. Users should also change their password regularly.

By scanning your device now with PSafe Total, you are ensuring the safety of all personal information, data and files. Tap the button below to run a complete scan: