LONDON: AVG security has dubbed a threat as PowerOffHijack which can hack your mobile phone even it is turn off. The following malware acts just like an active mobile phone, it can take photos, can make calls and can operate every function that a phone is capable off.
Over 10,000 installations of the PowerOffHijack malware have been tracked by AVG security. The Google Play store screens apps for malware, so any app you download from there should be safe. Users are mainly getting this malware from third-party app stores. A lot of these downloads are reported to be coming from China, where no one has access to Google Play. So, unregulated third-party app stores are abound, leading to rampant malware infestations.
This malware is only effective on Android devices that are running older versions of Lollipop. The malware is also only affecting Android devices that have been rooted. If you’re not sure if your device is rooted, its probably not. Rooting is when a user modifies his phone to allow deeper access and customization of the software. It requires detailed knowledge of the software, and it can’t really be done by chance.
So, unless you have rooted your phone and are still running an Android OS earlier than Lollipop 5.0, you should remain unaffected. If your phone is possibly at risk, or if you are concerned about the PowerOffHijack malware, running AVG’s own anti-virus should allay your fears and be able to detect it for you.
