Android™ smartphones get infected with variants of DroidDream and Zeus malware programs

Android is an open source mobile operating system, which is developed by Google. In order to obtain mobile apps for this platform, users can easily get access to the Android Market through their handsets. You can simply open the web browser from your Android smartphone to get an entry for app market. Android Market is a virtual place where app developers openly upload free and paid apps. While users are continuously downloading apps directly on their mobile devices, malicious coders are simultaneously posting apps with malware content.

One such malware is DroidDream, which had earlier infected several mobile devices. Basically, this malware sends out a download pop-up to the user to install malicious software on the mobile handset. If a user mistakenly accepts the invitation, then it carries out unnecessary tasks in the background without the user’s permission. This time, thousands of Android-based mobile phones got infected because of its variant.

According to computer securty firm Lookout Inc., the new variant DroidDream Light was embedded in four different Android apps posted by Mobinet. After this update from Lookout, the infected apps Quick FallDown, Scientific Calculator, Bubble Buster and a duplicate of Best Compass & Levele were removed from the app market.

Another malware which was recently detected is Zitmo, a variant of banking Trojan named Zeus . In contrast, Zitmo, which was earlier detected on Windows as well as Symbian devices, recently affected several Android mobile phones. The moment a user tries to utilize his mobile phone to access a banking site; Zitmo automatically gets an incoming text message having the authentication code for the banking site. In this way, the malware carries out the banking transactions without any human interference.

Google is trying hard to implement stringent policies in the near future. However, you as Android users should always scan the downloaded apps with a genuine and authenticated security app to prevent such malware from proliferating.