Red Alert 2.0 Banking Trojan targets over 60 popular Android banking and social apps
Nowadays the Android operating system is being constantly exploited by cyber crooks. It might seem that malware developers launch a new infectious application almost on a daily basis. Malware experts have recently discovered a new banking Trojan that targets over 60 popular Android banking and social apps. It goes by the name of Red Alert 2.0 and is known to be roaming the web at the moment. It has been noticed that the Trojan in question has been up for sale for about $500 on Russian-speaking forums for almost six months.
How does Red Alert 2.0 work
During the analysis, malware experts have identified the main features of this malicious application. As it turns out, Red Alert 2.0 is primarily used to steal sensitive information from the affected device. The devious application starts doing its dirty work once it is up and running on the victim's device.
Red Alert 2.0 is designed to affect various Android apps without the user's knowledge. Once the user launches such application, the Trojan in questions opens a dialog box, which asks to re-enter login credentials including passwords. Once that is done, all the gathered information is sent back to the server, which is overseen by malware developers.
The frightening thing about such functionality is the fact that cyber crooks could get a hold of your bank account details and other sensitive information, and you would not have a clue about that. In turn, they might use such data at their will, meaning that the affected user could end up with drained bank funds.
Unfortunately, that is not all that the Red Alert 2.0 Trojan does. Since the malicious application is constantly updated, it is not surprising that the latest version has some new incredibly intrusive and dangerous features. According to the research information this malware can now block calls from numbers that are related with banks or other financial institutions, which could inform you about fraudulent activities within your bank account.
Thus, if you suspect that your device is running the Red Alert 2.0 Trojan, you must contact your bank immediately. Malware experts across the Internet highly advise you to delete this malware at the very same instance that it is found active on your device.
Developers of Red Alert 2.0 distribute it deviously
The malicious program in questions does not appear to be targeting a specific region; however, according to various reports, the Red Alert 2.0 Trojan could be disguised as authentic Android apps such as Viber or WhatsApp. There is even a chance that these mock programs could appear on the Google Play store, which indicates that a massive number of users could be affected by it.
In other situations this Trojan could be up for download on questionable third-party download sites, which any users needs to avoid since they can host suspicious and even malicious software. In such instances, Red Alert 2.0 might be disguised as a Flash Player update to trick naive users.
In every instance of an Android attack, it is useful to remind users that the risk of infecting your device is very real, and you should not take chances. To prevent a system infection, we advise you to obtain and install a professional antimalware tool since it can identify and terminate any virtual security threat automatically.
Getting rid of Red Alert 2.0 is essential
If you are one of the unfortunate users that already has the Red Alert 2.0 Trojan active on their system, you must take immediate action to remove it. First, it is essential to identify the fraudulent app. Once that is done, be sure to remove it once and for all. It is also advised to restart your device. Keep in mind that manual removal of Red Alert 2.0 is a complex task. Thus, if you wish to remove this Trojan automatically, be sure to use a reliable antimalware tool for that.