Google Updates on Android Malware Issue; Removing Malicious Apps Remotely

Last week, Android users had a big scare as Google removed 21 apps from Android Market due to malware threat giving access to the device without users’ knowledge. Last night, updating on the malware issue, Google said it is remotely removing the malicious applications from affected devices.

In its blog Google said, on last tuesday the Android team identified and removed malicious apps that used known vulnerabilities of Android version below 2.2.2. Google thinks the attackers might have accessed device-specific information, but also added that they might have access to other data as well. Therefor, it has contacted law enforcement about the malware attack, in addition to just blocking the developers account associated with it.

Google said it is pusing Android software update for the affected devices to prevent the access of attackers. Google said

If your device has been affected, you will receive an email from android-market-support@google.com over the next 72 hours. You will also receive a notification on your device that “Android Market Security Tool March 2011” has been installed. You may also receive notification(s) on your device that an application has been removed.

You are not required to take any action from there; the update will automatically undo the exploit. Within 24 hours of the exploit being undone, you will receive a second email.

Learn more about the malware attack details and on how to protect your devices from Android Market Help Center.

How to Find if Your Android Device is Affected by the Malware Attack

One can find if their Android device is affected by the Malware by going to

Settings > Applications > Running services

and see if “DownloadManageService” is in the list of running services. If you find that your device is affected by the malware, but did not receive any update from Google, here are the troubleshooting tips from Google.

Confirm that there is connectivity on your device (contact your mobile service provider if you aren’t connected)

Confirm that background data is enabled on your device.

On Android 2.1 and above, Settings > Accounts & Sync > Background data

On Android 2.0 and below, Settings > Data synchronization > Background data

If downloading a paid application, confirm that your credit card information is up to date by logging in your Google Checkout account

Make sure that your phone is logged into Google Talk by following these steps:

Go to your phone’s app launcher, and press the Talk app

If you’re already logged into Talk, press Menu, and then touch Sign out

Launch Talk again to sign in

Make sure that your phone has enough available space to install the app. If necessary, try uninstalling some existing applications or moving them to your SD card.

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