WhatsApp: New virus paralyzes smartphone
from David Wurm 
on December 16, 2015, 17:58 | Write a comment
Currently is a renewed Spam on WhatsApp on the move with a promise. However, this is no longer as “harmless” as the previous scam with the middle finger emoji: this virus paralyzes a smartphone when downloading an “update”. Supposedly, if you click on the link, you should be able to see who your contacts are chatting with. Beware of fraud!
It happens again and again that uninformed users click on unknown links that are sent by WhatsApp & Co. We too from TechnikNews and other blogs have already received this message:
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Image: Mimikama
This spam is believed to be spreading in both English and German. Both messages are redirected to the same website. If a user clicks on this link, he will first be directed to a very dubious website. On this page, you will then be asked to send this link to 10 other contacts and groups (the background: the news spreads even more). The whole process looks something like this:
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
If the victim now clicks on "Update now" (see last step), the malware is downloaded directly to the smartphone & according to tests by Mimicama the smartphone vibrated the whole time until it stopped responding and could not be switched on. The smartphone no longer started after this download. Don't worry - the smartphone also vibrates when the “Upgrade required” pop-up appears - this can be resolved by simply closing the smartphone browser. We have therefore censored the links in the screenshots so as not to lure even more users into this trap and enter this link in their browser.
At the moment this virus only seems to work on Android smartphones - there is currently no fix on the software side. On iOS platforms you will be redirected to the same website, but here you will only be asked to enter your phone number and thus take out a subscription. Hence, it is advisable to use his apps discord update through the Google Play Store. In addition, you should not forward such non-confidential links to others, as this message will reach even more users.
