Lately, the CopyCat malware infected 14 million Android devices worldwide and is only spreading with every passing day. This makes CopyCat one of the most evident security threats for Android phones out there. If you also use an Android device, then you have come to the right place. In this post, we will let you know every essential detail about CopyCat and what prevention measures one should take to keep their Android device safe.
Part 1. What is CopyCat and how does it function?
Apr 06, 2019 The original CopyCat, with over a million downloads! CopyCat is a simple and addictive memory game. Watch the lights and try to repeat the sequence. The sequence will get longer and faster with each round. But be careful, one wrong tap. Features:. Customizable button colors. Timeout mode. Variable speeds. Great for memory and brain training Test your memory. Jun 24, 2019 A new study has used AI to check for counterfeit apps on Google Play Store that copy popular alternatives to target users with malware and data theft. The results are alarming, with thousands of. Copycat is a game that challenges your memory. See how many times you can repeat the flashing set of lights. But be warned: one mistake and you have to start.
You might already know that CopyCat malware infected 14 million Android devices till now. Though, the count is only increasing with every passing day. Most of the devices that got infected by CopyCat belong to various Southeast Asian countries. Out of the total CopyCat malware infected 14 million Android devices – over 8 million devices got exploited by attaining their root access. Furthermore, plenty of fraud activities were conducted on these devices that collected over $1.5 million of fraud revenue.
In order to know how to prevent your Android device from getting corrupted by CopyCat, it is important to understand how it works. Mostly, the malware enters through a third-party app store or a phishing scheme. Afterward, it automatically downloads essential packages and toolkit to root the host Android device. This lets the malware take a complete control of the device.
CopyCat injects a code into Zygote that lets it monitor and perform app installation. By performing fraud activities, it generates fraud revenue that gets transferred to the hackers. As of now, more than $1.5 million has been wrongly claimed by the malware attack.
If your Android device also has a few vulnerabilities, then it is high-time to fix them. We have discussed different ways to prevent the attack of CopyCat malware in the next section.
Part 2. How to completely prevent CopyCat from infecting your device?
Ever since CopyCat malware infected 14 million Android devices, various Android users are searching for different ways to keep their phones safe. If your phone has not been affected by CopyCat, then you should not take this for granted. Go ahead and follow these expert suggestions to prevent your device from any malware attack.
The 5 steps would help you completely prevent CopyCat from infecting your device:
- Upgrade to the latest version of Android
- Turn off third-party app installation
- Don’t open unknown links
- Only download trusted apps
- Backup your device
1. Upgrade to the latest version of Android
It has been discovered that CopyCat malware exploits five major vulnerabilities in Android. Mainly, these vulnerabilities exist in older versions of Android (like Android 5.0). Therefore, to start with, you should upgrade your device to a latest stable version of Android. This can be done by visiting its Settings > About Phone > System Updates and checking for a new software update. From here, you can simply install a new update without much trouble.
2. Turn off third-party app installation
You might already know that CopyCat mostly enters from a third-party source. In case if you have allowed your phone to install apps from unknown sources, then turn it off. Visit its Settings > Security and turn off the feature of 'Unknown sources' that allows installation of apps from sources other than Play Store.
3. Don’t open unknown links
You should always follow this habit while using your phone. Most of the times, people receive malicious texts on apps like WhatsApp, Skype, WeChat, and more that are not sent from the original contact. By clicking on these links, you might make your phone vulnerable to a security threat.
4. Only download trusted apps
Even on a secure platform like Google Play, you might see an abundant amount of apps available. Before downloading any app, make sure that it is uploaded from a trusted source. Always check its rating, number of downloads, and read various reviews before installing it on your phone.
5. Backup your device
It is always better to be safe than sorry. Your phone might get infected by a malware or security breach out of the blue. To make sure that you don’t lose any data after the attack, you should make a habit of taking a timely backup of your device. Later, after fixing your device, you can simply restore your data.
Wondershare TunesGo: A must-have Android backup tool
In order to secure your device’s data from any unexpected malware attack, it is important to take its timely backup. We recommend taking the assistance of Wondershare TunesGo, which is considered as an essential Android backup tool. Extremely secure and reliable, it has an easy to use interface and is compatible with all the leading versions of Android (including Android 7.0).
Android Backup Tool - One Stop Solution to Backup your Android Device
- Backup your music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS etc. to computer and restore them easily.
- Manage, export&import your Contacts and SMS, deduplicate Contacts, reply SMS with computer.
- One-click Root - Root your Android phones/tablets to take full control of your device.
- App Manager - Install, uninstall, import or backup Apps in batch.
- Gif Maker - Create Gif from photos, motion photos, videos.
- iTunes Manager - Sync iTunes Music to Android or transfer music from Android to iTunes
- Phone to Phone Transfer - Transfer music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS between two mobiles (both Android and iPhone are supported).
- Fully compatible with 3000+ Android devices (Android 2.2 - Android 8.0) from Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, Sony etc.
One can simply use TunesGo to take a complete backup of their Android or iOS device. It supports a wide range of data files as well, like contacts, photos, music, videos, call logs, messages, and more. To take a backup of your Android device using TunesGo, follow these steps:
Step 1 Download TunesGo Android backup tool and launch it on your Windows or Mac. Afterward, connect your phone to the system and wait for a while for the application to recognize it automatically.
Step 2 Once you get a snapshot of your device, move to the 'Toolbox' section from the menu bar and select the option of 'Backup Device' under the Backup & Restore category.
Step 3 From the pop-up window, select the kind of data files that you wish to backup. You can also change the location where you wish to save your backup file. After making your selection, click on the 'Backup' button to initiate the process.
Step 4 This will initiate the backup process. Simply wait for a while as TunesGo will take a complete backup of your data. After completing the process successfully, it will generate the following prompt. Simply click on the 'Open Backup files' option to view your backup.
After taking a comprehensive backup of our data, you can certainly keep your crucial information safe from a malware attack. By taking the assistance of Wondershare TunesGo, you would be able to backup your device, restore the backup, and perform plenty of other tasks without much trouble.
Now when you know how the CopyCat malware functions and the necessary measures that one should take to prevent their device from it, you can certainly keep your phone protected. Go ahead and implement these thoughtful suggestions and educate your friends and family as well about the CopyCat malware.
Researchers have revealed that Android malware Family was on its peak very successfully, more than 14 Million devices were infected by CopyCat Android Mobile Malware and it is estimated that about 8 Million devices were rooted by this malware.
What is CopyCat?
CopyCat is a mobile malware targeting Android devices that uses state-of-the-art technology to conduct ad fraud. Upon infection, it roots the user’s device, allowing attackers to gain full control of the device.
Research revealed that the hacker behind this earned about $1.5 million through ad fraud from April to May 2016. Researcher's and Check Point’s Mobile Research team come to know about malware in March this year and revealed that CopyCat mostly infected the Android users of South Asia and more than 280,000 android users in United states were also infected by it. Research showed that 55% rate of infection was in Asia, Africa 18% at the second number of infected users.
CopyCat was spread through most popular android apps that were effected with CopyCat malicious code and was available to download on app store other than Google play store.
Over 14 Million Devices Infected; 8 Million of them Rooted
Check Point's research team identified that CopyCat android device malware infected about 14 million devices in 2 months, 8 million devices were rooted by CopyCat, 3.8 million mobile devices were infected by this malware for ads fraud, 4.9million apps were install fraudulently and more than 4.4million of credit of users was stolen for installing paid apps. CopyCat malware which included capabilities to root the devices, establish persistency, enable to inject malicious piece of code in Zygote - a malware allows its author to launch apps on android device, enable fully access of the infected device.
How CopyCat Infects Android Devices
CopyCat malware have art of technology which enable the infected device to fully access by its author for add fraud, as similar malware was discovered in past, such as DressCode, Skinner, Gooligan etc. When the device infected by Copycat its needs to restart then whole scam begins, once infected device restart Copycat first roots that infected device, enable full access to hacker to user it for their purpose, then the malware injects malicious code into Zygote app launching process which allows the hacker to earn credit by installing apps by swapping the user referrer's id with their own.
In addition, Copycat force Zygote process to show fraudulent ads without showing their origin, it is very difficult for users to know the reason behind it, why popup ads are displaying on their screens, it also installs fraudulent apps to infected device by using separate module which was also infected by malicious code all of this scam generates large amount of revenue to its author.
Domains used by the CopyCat malware
*.mostatus.net
*.mobisummer.com
*.clickmsummer.com
*.hummercenter.com
*.tracksummer.com
How to stay protected
Malwares are developed day by day to steal user’s important data like credit card information to used it for inappropriate purpose, so the users need to adapt the ways to stay protected such as updated latest apps used for protection, avoiding apps from unknown source that may contain malicious piece of code in it and regularly take backup of your important data.
So ho wto stay protected from CopyCat?
- Upgrade to latest Android version
- Healthy Phone Habits
- Regularly back up your Android phone
Upgrade to latest Android version
Earlier versions of android software had many vulnerabilities in, such as a vulnerability in libskia could allow pirate app to access data outside of its permission levels, DOS (Denial of service) vulnerability may cause to enable the attacker to hang a device or reboot it, Malware like CopyCat needs the device to be rebooted in order to be activated. Information disclosure vulnerability enables to bypass OS protection, telephone vulnerability allows the hacker to gain privileges and helps to bypass the android operating system, minikin library vulnerability activates the DOS attack. There are number of vulnerabilities that may cause to be attack by hacker and enable the hacker to control or steal your important data. So upgrade your Android to the latest Android 7 is a good choice.
Healthy Phone Habits
Mostly malwares spread through pirated apps which are downloaded through unsecure third party servers, most of these apps are infected with malware. the best way to stay protected is to download anything you want from authorized and secure source such as google play store. never try to install APK from unknown source because there is a possibility that it may have piece of code that could affect your device.
Regularly back up your Android phone
The technologies changes with the passage of time, as technologies upgraded, the hackers also try their best to find a way to steal information, through fraudulent. in order to stay protected we need to have a backup in case something goes wrong. there are different malwares which may affect the users. A research revealed that there are different types of malware like Copycat, Gooligan, Skinner, Dress Code. So, its seem to be a good practice to take backup of your important and precious data regularly. In order to create a successful backup, we may need different tools for data backup like TunesGo backup tool.
Wondershare TunesGo: A must-have Android backup tool
If you need to back up your android device, then Wondershare TunesGo is an ideal tool for you. Wondershare TunesGo supports up to 7000 plus devices and can effectively backup any android device. The software has very user friendly interface and can be used by anyone easily. TunesGo is always recommended by the professionals because of its effectiveness.
Android Backup Tool - One Stop Solution to Backup your Android Device
- Backup your music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS etc. to computer and restore them easily.
- Manage, export&import your Contacts and SMS, deduplicate Contacts, reply SMS with computer.
- One-click Root - Root your Android phones/tablets to take full control of your device.
- App Manager - Install, uninstall, import or backup Apps in batch.
- Gif Maker - Create Gif from photos, motion photos, videos.
- iTunes Manager - Sync iTunes Music to Android or transfer music from Android to iTunes
- Phone to Phone Transfer - Transfer music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS between two mobiles (both Android and iPhone are supported).
- Fully compatible with 3000+ Android devices (Android 2.2 - Android 8.0) from Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, Sony etc.
Download Android App Store
How to backup android with TunesGo:
Step 1 Install TunesGo simply and launch the Android backup software from the desktop or startup menu and connect your device. TunesGo will automatically recognize your android device and display it on the home screen.
Step 2 After your device has been connected click Toolbox icon on the top right of the main menu in backup and restore section simply click Backup Device.
Step 3 In the next tab screen, you will be asked to specify the type of content you want to backup from your android device simply select the contents and select the save path to save the backup file on your PC. After you have selected the path simply click Backup and all of your android data will be backed up to your PC.
Backing up your device has never been easier thanks to TunesGo. It is very easy to use because of its user friendly interface and it can back up your device effectively with no hassle. TunesGo is highly recommended for backups and clearing your device has never been easier. We recommend you to download TunesGo give it a go and spread a word to your friends around.
Download Apps For Android Phones
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