They detect pre-installed virus in cheap Android smartphones

A worrisome alert was launched by the cyber security company Avast, in which it warns users in more than 100 countries about the presence of Malware preinstalled on several new low-end mobile devices, mainly from ZTE and other manufacturers.

In addition, the firm also warned about the presence of several applications in the Google store that are already being written off for security reasons.

According to the report "Android devices ship with pre-installed malware" published by Avast in its official blog, only in April were detected more than 18 thousand smartphones of various brands in more than 100 countries around the world were detected with an adware known as Cosiloon, although it notes that several of these models are not certified by Google.

The report points to Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal and the United States among the countries with the highest presence of infected devices. In the case of Latin America, the country that has been most affected is Venezuela, and the country does not mention other affected countries.

The malware is hidden in the settings of the system apps and installs other APKs that can detect if there is an antivirus on the mobile, and thus avoid being detected.

The applications were based on the development framework of Cordova and used the names of several developers, probably to prevent Google from eliminating them at the same time.