{"id":10818,"date":"2019-09-13T07:42:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T07:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/?p=10818"},"modified":"2020-03-12T07:31:27","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T07:31:27","slug":"joker-virus-latest-threat-to-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/joker-virus-latest-threat-to-android\/","title":{"rendered":"Joker Virus: Latest Threat to Android!!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-Virus-Blog-Image-1-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"Joker Virus\" class=\"wp-image-10845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-Virus-Blog-Image-1-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-Virus-Blog-Image-1-150x79.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-Virus-Blog-Image-1-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-Virus-Blog-Image-1-660x345.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-Virus-Blog-Image-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:left\"><em>The Joker virus has caused a severe threat to the vast digital population of Android users across the world. Google has identified 24 apps in the Google Play Store that are affected by this malware, and as a result, all these apps have been removed from the Play Store. To be on the safer side, the Android users must delete these apps at the earliest.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_76 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/joker-virus-latest-threat-to-android\/#What_is_Joker_VirusMalware\" >What is Joker Virus\/Malware?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/joker-virus-latest-threat-to-android\/#List_of_Affected_Apps\" >List of Affected Apps<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/joker-virus-latest-threat-to-android\/#How_Joker_Virus_Spreads\" >How Joker Virus Spreads?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Joker_VirusMalware\"><\/span><strong>What is Joker Virus\/Malware?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Android platform has always been vulnerable and\nfacing threats from malware from time and again. The latest addition to threat\nis the Joker Virus. As its name suggests, the Joker Malware relies on ads for\nsigning up people for premium subscriptions and then steal the user data in the\nbackground. This new malware is proven to be dangerous for Android users and\nhas already been downloaded on a large number of Android supporting\nsmartphones. As a preventive method, Google has removed all the affected apps\nfrom the Play Store. Unlike the previous malware attacks, Joker-infested\napplications have been downloaded a large number of times even though Google\nhas been removing these apps from its Play Store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Joker virus is proved to possess a high threat to Android users in terms of data privacy of the users. The malware has been secretly able to register people for the premium subscription to the services, steal their SMS data and gather all the crucial device information like serial numbers and IMEI numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"List_of_Affected_Apps\"><\/span><strong>List of Affected Apps<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Following is the list of apps that are affected by the Joker Malware-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Advocate Wallpaper<\/li><li> Age Face<\/li><li> Altar Message<\/li><li> Antivirus Security &#8211; Security Scan<\/li><li> Beach Camera<\/li><li> Board picture editing<\/li><li> Certain Wallpaper<\/li><li> Climate SMS<\/li><li> Collate Face Scanner<\/li><li> Cute Camera<\/li><li> Dazzle Wallpaper<\/li><li> Declare Message<\/li><li> Display Camera<\/li><li> Great VPN<\/li><li> Humour Camera<\/li><li> Ignite Clean<\/li><li> Leaf Face Scanner<\/li><li> Mini Camera<\/li><li> Print Plant scan<\/li><li> Rapid Face Scanner<\/li><li> Reward Clean<\/li><li> Ruddy SMS<\/li><li> Soby Camera<\/li><li> Spark Wallpaper<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If an Android user has any of the above-listed apps in their Play Store, then they must immediately uninstall these from their smartphones. Besides removing these from the phones, the users also must compulsorily give a full factory reset on the device to get away with such a malicious content on their device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Joker_Virus_Spreads\"><\/span><strong>How Joker Virus Spreads?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Joker virus hides in the advertisement framework that is used by the above-listed applications, thereby, delivering an initialization component or Loader to the user&#8217;s device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Loader is destined to carry\nout the set of following tasks-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u00a0Checking the country  of the user&#8217;s device<\/li><li>Communicating with Command and  Control server<\/li><li>Decrypting and loading the second  stage component that is present in a DEX file-format<\/li><li>Listening to the phone notifications  and then sending the required elements of the Core Joker malware component<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Loader Component<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Before attacking the (victim&#8217;s) user&#8217;s Android device,\nthe Joker virus examines whether the victim is the SIM card from one of the\nMobile Country Codes or MCC. Mostly, the infected apps have targeted the Asian\nand EU countries, though some of them were defined to target the victims\nworldwide. The Loader is now ready to download the DEX file and uses it for\nfurther usage, heading to the core malware functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> <strong>Core Component<\/strong>  <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The significant part of the Joker Android virus has to have a small amount of code and remain as silent as possible on the infected device. This malware has been developed by professionals who&#8217;re looking to and know the means to operate silently without getting noticed. The malware is continuous touch with the C&amp;C server for receiving new tasks and accordingly report results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"567\" height=\"339\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker.jpg\" alt=\"Joker Virus Spread\" class=\"wp-image-10819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker.jpg 567w, https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-150x90.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Joker-300x179.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/geeksadvice.com\/remove-joker-virus\/\"><strong>Source<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Joker malware&#8217;s presence has been observed in 37\ncountries like Australia, Austria, Belgium, etc. with India being affected the\nmost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>It is quite evident that the main\ntask of the Joker virus is to initiate user&#8217;s clicks on the advertisements. As\na result of this, it pops up premium offer URLs and injects the JavaScript\ncommands and then wait for the authorization SMS to arrive. As the Android\nvirus has a phone notification checker, it quickly grasps the incoming SMS and\nthereby extracting the needed confirmation code for purchasing the premium\nservices on behalf of the victim. This malware can also steal the text messages\nfrom the victim&#8217;s phone along with the entire address book and sending it to\nthe C&amp;C server. Users need to make sure that they are always checking the\napp permissions and download only the trustworthy apps on their devices to\navoid any Android virus infection.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Joker virus has caused a severe threat to the vast digital population of Android users across the world. Google has identified 24 apps in the Google Play Store that are affected by this malware, and as a result, all these apps have been removed from the Play Store. To be on the safer side,&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/joker-virus-latest-threat-to-android\/\" class=\"gdlr-button small excerpt-read-more\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":10821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1271,1534],"tags":[13,2232,1310,2233,2231,1591,2234,511],"class_list":["post-10818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-2","category-technology","tag-android","tag-android-threat","tag-google-play-store","tag-imei","tag-joker-virus","tag-malware","tag-mobile-security","tag-security"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10818"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11355,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10818\/revisions\/11355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esds.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}