Items tagged with xhelper

by Brandon Hill - Fri, Apr 10, 2020

xHelper 'Unkillable' Malware Survives Factory Reset, Still Infecting Android Phones

We've discussed the rather nasty xHelper malware on a number of occasions here at HotHardware, and it's a rather insidious trojan. XHelper first started making the rounds via the Google Play Store roughly a year ago, and by October 2019, over 45,000 Android devices had fallen victim to its tainted tentacles. As of now, that number has surpassed 50,000. The folks over at Kaspersky have performed a rather thorough analysis of xHelper, which manifests itself in Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Helper.h and is typically distributed via apps that claim to clean your smartphone or boost its performance. However, once the payload is downloaded, decrypted, installed, and then launched on a device, it then... Read more...

by Brittany Goetting - Fri, Feb 14, 2020

Outbreak Of Android Trojan xHelper Malware Appears To Be Triggered By Google Play Itself

Android Trojan xHelper haunted the Google Play Store in 2019. After several months, it appeared that the malware had disappeared. Unfortunately, xHelper was not dead but only sleeping. Security researchers at Malwarebytes Lab recently discovered that xHelper was once again infecting devices and that its reinfection seemed to be triggering off from Google Play. Android Trojan xHelper first appeared in Spring 2019 and infected over 45,000 devices. xHelper targeted users in India, the United States, and Russia. It is a malware dropper whose main purpose is to provide a backdoor to attackers. The attackers can then install other apps, steal data, or even take over the device. A Malwarebyte forum... Read more...

by Shane McGlaun - Wed, Oct 30, 2019

Xhelper Malware Silently Infects More Than 45,000 Android Devices

Google is having a significant problem with malware on the Google Play store with apps that continue to infect tens of thousands of users. Another Android malware app called Xhelper has been thriving on Google Play for the last six months and infected 45,000 devices during that time. Making Xhelper a more significant threat is the fact that the app itself downloads other threats along with displaying ads. Currently, Xhelper is targeting users in India, the United States, and Russia. Symantec says that Xhelper is part of a surge in apps that can hide from users, download additional malicious apps, and display ads. Frustrating users even more is the fact that Xhelper is persistent and... Read more...