25 Million Android Devices Infected By Malware named "Agent Smith"

Source : Google

A new Android Malware called "Agent Smith" has infected over 25 million devices worldwide, including 15 million in India. The malware disguises itself as a Google-related application and then replaces installed applications with malicious versions of them using known Android vulnerabilities without users' knowledge. “The malware attacks user-installed applications silently, making it challenging for common Android users to combat such threats on their own,” said Jonathan Shimonovich, Head of Mobile Threat Detection Research at Check Point.  
As per a press note shared by Check Point Research, the Agent Smith malware uses its access to Android devices to show fake ads for financial gain, but given its access, it can also be used for more nefarious purposes. However, it is unclear if the malware has been doing so.

Agent Smith infection world heat map

Root of the Malware :

The 'Agent Smith" is originally downloaded from the widely-used third party app store 9Apps and targeted mostly Asian Countries. Some of the apps that infected devices via 9Apps Store are Screen Theme, Photo Projector, Rabbit Temple, Kiss Game : Touch Her Heart, and Girl Cloth XRay Scan Simulator. It’s always recommended to download the apps from only trusted sources like Google play store. It’s most common that, If you use any third party websites, you may infect with malware.

How to Check whether your phone is infected by Agent Smith?

Recently Downloaded any apps from 9Apps website, then you should definitely check whether your mobile phone is malware affected. Agent Smith shows you some fault advertisements without your intervention. It collects sensitive information about yourself and your bank accounts to use for fraudulent activities.
If you have ever noticed a few advertisements which are really odd or you have downloaded any Google related apps from 9Apps websites, you just need to follow the precautions to get rid of the things.

How to remove Agent Smith ?

If your device is infected by Agent Smith then you can remove it with few basic troubleshooting steps. First you have to uninstall all the apps that you have downloaded before from any third party sources. If you have any anti-virus software, better we do a full device scan to detect the malware. If you feel like other apps also infected with this Agent Smith malware, just try to uninstall all of them immediately. Otherwise, even if you delete the apps from 9Apps, it will still continue to be effective as it has already changed the code of other innocent apps.