New Agent Smith Virus Infects Android Smartphones

The cybersecurity agency Check Point warns of the proliferation of the new Agent Smith virus. According to the agency's report, the computer malware has already infected more than 25 million Android smartphones.

Agent Smith virus has already infected more than 25 million Android phones

Disguised as a Google app, the new virus, called "Agent Smith", in reference to the character of "Matrix", interferes in the phones of its victims without them realizing it. Unlike malware created to retrieve personal data, this one acts in a completely different way. The Agent Smith virus hijacks the applications already existing on the user's phone by duplicating them so as not to make infected copies, which display a large number of advertisements. Therefore, using infected apps becomes almost impossible. The virus infects very popular apps, such as WhatsApp, and makes it impossible to update.

To achieve its ends, the computer virus spreads through several apps available on the unofficial 9Apps store. The highest number of infected devices, around 15 million, is recorded in India. The remaining 10 million are for users in Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United States (approximately 300,000 devices affected) and the United Kingdom (approximately 100,000).

To find out if your phone is infected, if you are using 9Apps, make sure that you display ads in an app that is not intended to offer them. It could be a sign of infection. Take into account that the majority of infected devices, i.e. 73.7%, are running Android 5.0 and 6.0. Only a quarter of affected devices, or 25.1%, have newer versions, such as Android 7.0 and 8.0. If, on the other hand, you do not use 9Apps to download your apps, no risk for your phone.