Ransomware is a type of malicious software that aims to make you believe you’ve committed some IT crime, supposedly for visiting a site with illegal content, and now have to pay to remove a block from your computer. Until now, these types of malware had only been seen on desktop computers, but now they’ve also arrived to Android devices.

How does the infection happen?

The so-called Android-Trojan.Koler.A is nothing more than the adaptation for Android devices of the aforementioned ransomware. In this case, when you install an app in APK format that contains the file, it will make a window appear on your browser superimposed over your Android desktop informing you that you have commited a crime by viewing illegal content and you have to pay $300 to “unblock” your device. This money will go directly to the hackers, making this a totally fraudulent act of extortion.

koler a screenshots The “police virus” comes to Android phones

The infection won’t happen automatically—you’ll have to accept the installation of a file that probably will be camouflaged with a fake name. For our part, we’ve come across the program with the name “BSplayer-latest-android.apk,” aiming to make you think you’re installing the popular multimedia player. We can’t remind you enough: BE CAREFUL with sites where you can download apps in APK format!

Also, to seem more believable, the malware reads your IP address where you’re connected to show a message and header image adapted to the country where you’re located.

How can I get rid of it?

Luckily, in this case we’re dealing with a harmless extorsion tool that won’t cause any serious harm to your device, unlike the well-known Cryptolocker ransomware that caused such havoc in 2013, although it can still be difficult to get rid of it.

koler a screenshots 2 The “police virus” comes to Android phones

Even if you close the warning window, it will keep popping up every five seconds, meaning you’ll have to uninstall the program within that five-second span. You can identify it with a blue and white icon under the name DaBoink (although it’s only a matter of time before it starts to appear under various other names). After you click the Home button, you have to quickly drag the app to the upper area where you uninstall apps, although this doesn’t always work in all cases.

Given that from your smartphone there’s no other way to achieve this, you’ll have to take advantage of these five seconds to install some sort app to let you manage your smartphone from your PC, such as Airdroid. This type of program lets you install and uninstall apps from your computer.

Source: Malware don’t need coffee

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