Possible Virus - Play Store opens randomly to specific games/apps

[Opal407]

I'm also having this problem. Not sure if the link is the same every time but I'll post it here for a guru to see what the problem is. I've cleared everything, and I haven't downloaded some new app. Its not a "mid click" because this will happen right after I check my phone and unlock the screen. It'll go right to the browser to this (or some other) link. We aren't stupid, people. We know when there is a problem with our phones. Anyway, here's the link: http://admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/:

 

[empire designs]

I'm also having this problem. Not sure if the link is the same every time but I'll post it here for a guru to see what the problem is. I've cleared everything, and I haven't downloaded some new app. Its not a "mid click" because this will happen right after I check my phone and unlock the screen. It'll go right to the browser to this (or some other) link. We aren't stupid, people. We know when there is a problem with our phones. Anyway, here's the link: http://admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/:

I'm having the same issue. Just popped up within the last 2 or 3 days. Tried some virus searches and airpush searches and got nothing. Uninstalled some recently DL apps as well. Still got a popup. I also tried closing all browser windows and a restart and just got another chrome popup when unlocking my phone. It doesn't show in the notifications. Only when I unlock my phone, there's a chrome window open with that link for a split second and then the google play store opens. Kind of annoying.

 

[mnothdorf]

I got the same thing a few days ago. It happens when I click on an email or text message from the lock/notification screen on my Galaxy S 5.

This is the link I got when chrome pops up and then it goes right to the play store for various games.

http://admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/:

I have searched for ads and ran the VZ Protect and found nothing. McAfee SiteAdvisor did warn me the link has malware.

Please help!
Mike

 

[Jaime Odom]

I am having the same problem. The ad with the same web address keeps popping up when I unlock the phone. It redirects me to the play store to download some game. I have a galaxy s3 & this has just started within the past couple of days. I've ran several scans & still can't find anything...

 

[peacefulberry]

Do any of you have rooted phones? What about your most recent apps...any unofficial sideloaded apps or new apps within the last month? I would uninstall each app from the last month and clear the app data first before uninstalling. I saw this problem before from a user with a 3rd party keyboard. I would install all 3rd party keyboards/emojis, etc. Also, after you do all of your uninstalling, clear the partition cache again. See if that helps.

 

[binxiboo]

I have the same issues as well. No Antivirus has caught anything, I've done everything short of Master reset, and the link still opens when I touch my phone at random times. I've tried, lookout, McAfee, ad detector from lookout, mobile care, and had att help. Nothing solved it.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Stang5_o2002]

I got the same thing a few days ago. It happens when I click on an email or text message from the lock/notification screen on my Galaxy S 5.

This is the link I got when chrome pops up and then it goes right to the play store for various games.

http://admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/:

I have searched for ads and ran the VZ Protect and found nothing. McAfee SiteAdvisor did warn me the link has malware.

Please help!
Mike

I have this exact same link that pops up when I unlock my phone. Galaxy S4, rooted with towelroot. Haven't installed any new apps within at least a month besides the Amazon app store and Plex. It just started happening a few days ago. Maybe we should post a list of the apps we have installed and compare them?

 

[Jaime Odom]

I ran VZ Protect last night & it didnt find anything. My phone isnt rooted. However this morning when I unlocked my phone it popped up again. This time VZ Protect said it was an untrusted site that may contain malware. I just have no idea where this is coming from. I haven't downloaded anything recently.

 

[wes123456]

possible solution for this popup
http://admob-redirect.s3-website-us-...mazonaws.com/:
I cleared all cookies in browsers and uninstalled these apps and havent got the popup for a day.
ebay
etsy
gsam battery monitor
weather channel

let us know if this list helps

 

[Phil Hamlin]

I'm also having the same problem, with redirects spawning to admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com .

Quite irritating, and like other posters, none of the ad detection software seems to be able to detect it. I don't have etsy, ebay, or the other apps installed that you do -- but I'll be looking in to other possible solutions and doing my own experimenting.

Please, if anyone finds out anything useful, please share it with the rest of us!

Thanks,
Phil

 

[skarpachi]

Same issue here. Following to see if a solution is found.

I'm also having the same problem, with redirects spawning to admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com .

Quite irritating, and like other posters, none of the ad detection software seems to be able to detect it. I don't have etsy, ebay, or the other apps installed that you do -- but I'll be looking in to other possible solutions and doing my own experimenting.

Please, if anyone finds out anything useful, please share it with the rest of us!

Thanks,
Phil

 

[peacefulberry]

I mentioned earlier that I saw this problem from a user with a 3rd party keyboard. Do any of you have 3rd party keyboards?

 

[Phil Hamlin]

I mentioned earlier that I saw this problem from a user with a 3rd party keyboard. Do any of you have 3rd party keyboards?

I do, as I'm a bit of a keyboard wh*re... like really, I think I've tried them all (even the crappy ones). Currently, I only have the following "keyboards and input methods" available on my note 2:
- Android L Keyboard (https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...?id=com.e.android.softkeyboard&token=10IUyVMV)
- Google Voice Typing (comes with the phone)
- Samsung keyboard (I'd uninstall if I could, but whatever - comes pre-installed)
- SwiftKey (duh -- best keyboard available, ever -- convinced that it's not the culprit)

I'll remove the Android L keyboard because I'm not using it. However, I've had it on here for a while and only started seeing these issues recently.

So here's a thought. Since the problem we're experiencing seems to involve AdMob (based on the URL previously mentioned: admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com), maybe we can identify the culprit app based on a review of the applications that integrate with the admob ad network. Unfortunately, this doesn't narrow it down much, because based on my phone's scan, this is (by a long shot) the most prevalent ad network, with 30+ apps using it (the next most used network on my phone is MobileAppTracking with only 5 apps).

You can take a look yourself using app brain ad detector: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...spot.swisscodemonkeys.detector&token=PjzpR6PE

So -- anyone think it's reasonable to assume that the app is somewhere in this list? Tried to group them into suspect / recently installed apps and apps that I'm fairly sure aren't the culprit -- but what do I know? Do you see any overlap between these apps and ones you have?

Recently Installed and / or potentially suspect
- App Cache Cleaner
- Music Download Paradise Pro
- The Weather Channel (wouldn't normally suspect twc, but someone else in another thread I read mentioned the app)

Recently Installed but likely not the culprit based on reputation / prior app use:
- AllTrails
- Amazon Wallet
- Draft Punk 2014

I've had these for a long time and trust that they're not the culprit:
- CamScanner
- CBS Sports
- Cerberus
- Chromecast
- Circa
- DynamicNotifications
- CBS Sports Fantasy
- FatSecret
- GasBuddy
- Google Opinion Rewards
- hoopla
- IPC Cast Proxy
- LinkedIn
- n7player
- Nextdoor
- OpenTable
- Pandora
- Plants Vs Zombies 2
- Quickoffice
- Sheets
- Smart Voice Recorder
- Speedtest
- theScore
- Trello
- Twitter
- Yelp

 

[binxiboo]

I have SwiftKey installed and music download paradise. That is all that I see that is relatable here for me. Those have been on my phone for awhile. This is very aggressive and annoying. I hope we can all find a solution soon. I am now removing these two to see if it helps.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JamesWTaylor34]

I'm having the same exact problem on my 4 moth old droid mini. I haven't added a ton of apps yet so hopefully I can track it down by series of elimination. Its super annoying though. The admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com is what pops up on my phone. It only pops up after I turn my phone on after its been off atleast 3 or 4 hours. It pops up first in chrome and then redirects rather quickly to playstore. It changes between a few different games.

I have SwiftKey installed and music download paradise. That is all that I see that is relatable here for me. Those have been on my phone for awhile. This is very aggressive and annoying. I hope we can all find a solution soon. I am now removing these two to see if it helps.

Posted via Android Central App

I have music download paradise as well. That's three of. Mine was recently installed as I stated my phone is fairly new and I haven't installed a ton of apps yet. I'm going to remove download paradise and see if that helps.

 

[binxiboo]

It seems many haven't installed any new apps recently and I haven't either. It is so intermittent, that I think it's fixed, but then it happens again.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[monsieurms]

I'Anyway, here's the link: http://admob-redirect.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/:

That link on my desktop brings me to Poshmark shopping app on Google Play. IS that what you were seeing?

 

[Kimberly Lewis-Ling]

I've most recently downloaded a cache cleaner up...speed booster I think. That's when it started happening to my phone...thoughts?

 

[wes123456]

Update-
music paradise was one of the many apps i uninstalled when i got this popup. haven't gotten it since, but cant pinpoint. A day and multiple restarts later still clean.

 

[kobe008]

I also have music paradise and I have started getting these popups from admob