Is "shell" malware? It has access to SMS, etc.

[Helen95]

Hi

In my virus scan shell shows with an android type pic but not as a system app. It says low exposure but also has quite a lot of access eg SMS and location.

It doesnt appear in my apps list via settings to do anything about it. Is this malware or nothing to worry about? If malware how do I remove? Thanks in advance. I'll try and add some SS

 

[B. Diddy]

re: Is "shell" malware? It has access to SMS, etc.

Welcome to Android Central! I moved this from the Android Apps forum to the General Help forum since the former is intended for developers to promote their apps.

Shell is a system app -- nothing to worry about. See this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_(computing)

 

[Helen95]

re: Is "shell" malware? It has access to SMS, etc.

Hello and thank you! That's all a bit over my head, but thank you for the reassurance. Is it normal for it to access sms, and if you have the time to answer this, for what purpose? Thanks again!

 

[B. Diddy]

re: Is "shell" malware? It has access to SMS, etc.

See @Rukbat's post here: https://forums.androidcentral.com/g...ge-hidden-app-com-android-shell-my-phone.html. It's basically a way for the user to access deeper basic system commands. Since it's the system we're talking about, it presumably has access to all parts of the system, including SMS.