Malwarebytes researchers have come across a new type of Android malware. Cleaned several times, it reinstalled itself every hour. To end the infernal loop, they had to push their manipulations beyond a complete smartphone reset.
It’s so tough, even a full smartphone reset didn’t get the job done. The xHelper Trojan for Android smartphones has resurfaced in early 2020 in a version that is almost impossible to clean. It had already claimed many victims by the summer of 2019, allowing criminals to deploy further malware.
But this improved version has been a challenge for the Malwarebytes team, led by Nathan Collier. The analyst even claims that the malware’s modus operandi marks a “new era” of smartphone malware.
A virus that keeps reinstalling itself
Malwarebytes researchers were alerted in January 2020 by a user. She had identified that her phone was infected with xHelper. After using the brand’s anti-malware, she had managed to remove two versions of xHelper, as well as a Trojan horse.
However, xHelper was back only an hour after it was removed. So the search team had to take a closer look.
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