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Mobile ransomware can now affect your smart TV also

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Soma Tah
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BANGALORE, INDIA: Researchers at Trend Micro have found a new variant of the Android mobile lock-screen ransomware, known as “FLocker” which can lock down smart TVs as well.

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FLocker checks whether the device is located in the following Eastern European counties: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and Belarus. If the device detects that it is located in any of these locations, it deactivates itself.

If FLocker reaches a compatible target, it waits for 30 minutes after infecting the unit and then tries installing a command and control system on the smartphone or TV. It requests device admin privileges immediately but if denied, the malware freezes the screen faking a system update.

Once installed, it flashes up a message on an infected phone or TV that pretends to be US Cyber Police or another law enforcement agency demanding 200 USD worth of iTunes gift cards.

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Ransomware usually reach users via spam SMS or malicious links. This is why users should be wary when browsing the internet or when receiving messages or email from unknown sources.

But, if an Android TV gets infected, user can contact the device vendor first for solution.

Another way of removing the malware is possible if the user can enable ADB debugging. Users can connect their device with a PC and launch the ADB shell and execute the command “PM clear %pkg%”. This kills the ransomware process and unlocks the screen. Users can then deactivate the device admin privilege granted to the application and uninstall the app.

ransomware android security