Help Is This Spyware?

[SunMad30]

Hi All,
If you have Android Revolution Hd and then scan your phone with Avira and get “Android/SmsSpy.S.Gen”. Is it really a virus or is the Avira just being sensitive? Thanks.

 

[mikedt]

Apparently it is something undesirable yes.
https://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan_android_smsspy.shtml
I believe F-Secure are a reputable and long established company, and probably Avira is right as well.

Is this "Android Revolution Hd" some Chinese device, but I've never heard of it and searching doesn't show anything useful. Some off-brand and cheapo China phones have definitely been known to have malware pre-installed on them.

 

[Hadron]

Android Revolution HD is the name of a custom ROM for some HTC devices. That won't be where the malware came from.

(A point of terminology: it's not a virus. A virus is a specific subclass of malware, and there are no viruses for Android).

 

[SunMad30]

Android Revolution HD is the name of a custom ROM for some HTC devices. That won't be where the malware came from.

(A point of terminology: it's not a virus. A virus is a specific subclass of malware, and there are no viruses for Android).

So if the scan gave the other user this message, it is not the ROM that has the malware? The user got it elsewhere?

 

[Hadron]

I think the chance that Mike1986 is including spyware in the ROM is negligible. So as long as you obtained the ROM from his XDA thread then I'd say yes, any malware that you find was installed later. Downloads from sources other than the developer himself could be a different matter, especially since the developer specifically asks people not to do that.

Do you know which app is infected?