Need Help!! Nexus 7 Malware/Virus.

jim gunzel1

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Mar 31, 2013
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I have a very serious problem with my nexus 7, every time im browsing on google chrome, after around 15 min, the browser will open a new tab with a pornografic site, and it starts downloading out of it self an apk named "FAKINGS.apk", i have never visited one porn site on my nexus 7, however i do download alot of things from **** (alot of games) and such, the main issue is that i have factory reseted my nexus 7 around 4 times now, but the malware is always there, if tried over 5 anti virus programs and they dont seem to find anything, im completly out of ideas, the only app that i have on my nexus right now is the "Simple mp3 Downloader" could it be that this app contains malware?, i also did a little research on the apk FAKINGS, its from a spanish porn website, but i have never visited any porn site on my nexus 7, what should i do now? reset it again and download another browser? or is there a way on how to completly format the nexus 7?

Any help is very appreciated :)

Im sorry for my horrible spelling, English is my second language.

Regards jim
 
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well, obviously I'd say the next test is to remove that remaining app and see if it goes away.
 
Just do a factory reset and restore. You could try one of the bigger antivirus programs to see if they work but I doubt it.
 
You would be surprised at the amount of legit apps on the Play Store and other online resources/stores that place what many would consider Malware or Spam on your device. My kids download simple kids games all the time from Play Store to my GNex and I'm constantly finding Spam advertisements in the notifications and even app links placed on my Home Screen from these games they download. So far everything I have ever found was easily reversed/erased by just finding which app they downloaded that is causing this stuff and un installing it.

Sounds like you probably fell victim to the same thing, some legit app that is pushing some low level Malware/Spam causing minor issues.
 
Also, don't bother trying an anti virus app, they cause more problems than they solve.

This is from me, on my EVO 3D.
 
Also, don't bother trying an anti virus app, they cause more problems than they solve.

This is from me, on my EVO 3D.

Six months ago that may have been true. Now Android virus are being created in much higher numbers and It is a smart idea to put a Anti-Virus on your Android devices. This thread should be proof.
 
Have you tried a factory reset *without* restore? Install nothing at all, give it a solid hour of use just visiting 'boring' websites like bbc news etc.

If it's still doing it then, I suggest you look at your router...

If not, add one app at a time, nice and slow, until the problem happens again, then you have your culprit.

And please, just use the play store. The vast majority of this junk comes from non-play store sources.
 
Try out an app called TrustGo ad detector. It will review all your apps for bad behavior and tell you about them. They also have a pretty good security app (TrustGo Security) that I have been using for quite a while with good results. These may identify the culprit for you.
 
Do a restore using stock images and stop pirating apps & games.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 
Six months ago that may have been true. Now Android virus are being created in much higher numbers and It is a smart idea to put a Anti-Virus on your Android devices. This thread should be proof.

It isnt. Less than six months ago it was shown to be still true. It's as useless as installing a task killer.

This is from me, on my EVO 3D.
 
Do a restore using stock images and stop pirating apps & games.
First, although you don't specifically state that you are pirating, you do imply it. If true, cole2kb is absolutely correct, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for your situation. You perhaps don't, either, as I assume you understood the risks.

Nonetheless, you state that this problem occurs after you open Chrome, and that a factory reset does no good. It's possible, then, that some history, cache, or setting in Chrome, saved in your Google account, is causing the problem. Try clearing history and cache in Chrome, logging out of your Google account in Chrome, stop syncing with your Google account, or set up the N7 with a different Google account. Also, from a desktop computer, clear all of your Chrome saved data, like history, cache, etc.
 
i mainly downloaded roms and some other games that weren't on the market, but no i didn't pirate (unless downloading ps1 and gba roms are considered pirating) i never really downloaded any pirated files because of the risk that they may contain a virus, funny enough i got a virus anyway -_-, anyway i deleted everything like you said, if used my nexus for around 30min today and everything seems fine, however tomorrow ill give it a full day of use and ill report here to see if it helped, thanks for the help :)
 
Game ROMs are considered piracy, yes. If you're using a Nexus 7 I'm not sure what games would be unavailable to you, unless it is a country restriction. Either way, stay clear of unofficial channels for applications. I don't know if it still works but there is a tool called Market Unlocker that should lift the location restrictions in the Play Store if that's your issue.

Sent from my Motorola RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2
 
However, there are perfectly legitimate and safe alternative app markets, such as Amazon, SlideME Market and 1Mobile Market. Indeed, SlideME Market is intended for markets not served by Google, and sells legal, paid apps that can also be found on the Play Store.
 

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