Warning: Samsung clones are sold with malware

Clones of famous Android smartphones, in addition to being doubtful, can sometimes hide malware.

 Binary virus pixanay 700 Warning: Samsung clones are sold with malware

Just type "clone Galaxy S4" on a search engine to realize that there are many for sale cheap smartphones that strangely resemble high-end large manufacturers, but are not. But despite the fact that it is almost (we say well almost) of counterfeits, some users may be tempted, due to prices that are four times lower.

However, in addition to uncertainty about the operation and life of these mobile called "clones" on the internet, there are other surprises that may be even more dangerous. Recently, the German firm GDATA, computer security specialist, spotted a "clone" of the Galaxy S4 which concealed malicious and potentially dangerous software. If the operating system Android is reputed to be the target of many of these programs, it would have been inserted by the manufacturer itself and thus integrated into the firmware.

Malware disguised Play Store?

The model in question is the "N9500", produced by the company Star, based in China. Spotted by GDATA malware conceal themselves behind the preinstalled Application Play Store and is completely transparent to the user. In addition to keeping up-to-date security, malware would be able to capture information such as correspondence, e-mails, calls, or even banking information . In addition, he would be able to take control of the microphone and camera. And finally, he would send data to "anonymous" servers located in China. In essence, it is a bit like the NSA.

Do not be bluffed by price

When I tried the "N9500" on Google, I was amazed and surprised to see it was available on many e-commerce sites. Apparently it has been listed on Amazon, for example. In any case, there was apparently referenced by Google and page dedicated to "Star N9500 ​​- 5.0 inch ..." on Amazon.fr. At the moment I write this, other traders even continue to sell the N9500, which is accused of hiding GDATA a dangerous malware.

Amazon Star Attention: Samsung clones are sold with malware

In terms of specifications, I was also surprised when I discovered that they were anything but modest, at least for a mobile sold at 126 euros:

5 inch capacitive screen, HD, 1280 * 720 pixels
12-megapixel camera on the back and 5 megapixel front (??)
Quad core processor clocked at 1.2 Ghz
1GB Ram
Jelly Bean OS 4.2

With such high specifications, GDATA specialist hypothesized: the constructor catches perhaps the shortfall through the stolen data.