It is not a secret that Pornhub is the most visited adult content website on the internet, registering millions of unique and return hits every month, having easily outperformed its closest competitor for the fourth year in a row.
In recent news, pseudo Pornhub apps for Android devices are installing malware.
As is known to many Android users, the Google Play Store doesn’t allow pornographic applications to be advertised or approved for distribution through the app store; virtually any app with the word “porn” on it is highly restricted and will not pass their app check.
Because of this, Pornhub users rely on unverified sources on the open web to try to get a Pornhub application, making them easy targets for applications infected with malware.
The new app that has hit the market completely restricts the rights that you enjoy over your phone, effectively barring users from accessing their phones until they pay a ransom in Bitcoin equivalent to $100 USD to remove the malware.
When installing the application, it gains system access privileges that allows it to place malware in the form of ransomware on the users’ mobile phones.When users open the application for the first time after installing it, they are asked to perform a virus and malware scan on their phone before being allowed to access the videos streamed from the website.
When they allow it to perform a malware check, they are giving full permission to this third-party software to lock them out of their phone and take command.
Of course, the “scan” is what installs the malware.
After this has transpired, users are locked out of their phones with a ransomware-like screen, demanding that the users pay the fee of $100 worth of Bitcoin.
For the uninitiated, it is easy to freak out and surrender to the application, resulting in the perpetrators receiving pay and leaving the user with no guarantee that their phones will be restored and the malware removed.
This is not the correct choice, however.
Users wishing to remove the application have a few avenues that they can take
They may start their phone in “safe” mode, withholding the permissions given to any third party application.
After that is done, they may manually remove the application.
If by mistake they have given the malware-laden application administrator privileges for their device, it is important that you first take away those privileges from this malware.
Alternatively, users may do a factory reset to wipe out the malware and your phone, guides pertaining to which are easily available on the internet.
While this is the surefire method, it is extremely inconvenient for the majority of users.
How do can you avoid these kind of mishaps from happening?
To avoid malicious applications and malware on Android phones, it is highly recommended that users only download applications from the Google Play Store and not from third party sources.
The applications present on the Google Play Store go through a stringent security and quality check, and there is a very slim chance of the application being laden with malware.