About 25 million Android phones were infected with malware hidden inside WhatsApp, according to an article from Forbes. Essentially, the virus replaced certain apps (including WhatsApp) with fake versions that bombard the user with ads.
Because it is copying and replacing apps with a malicious version, the Malware virus has been named Agent Smith based on the character from “The Matrix.”
How did this happen and what is it doing?
A third-party app store called 9apps.com is responsible for the spread. If you downloaded your apps from the Play Store, you should be safe. You can still download WhatsApp from the website, but we’d recommend downloading it from us just to be safe.
As of now, the only thing that the malware appears to be doing is bombarding the user with malicious ads. However, Agent Smith has lots of harmful potential. Since it can hide in plain sight, the virus can present a privacy risk without the user knowing what’s happening.
Most of the infected Android phones are in India (about 15 million). However, there are still about 300,000 infected phones in the U.S. and about 137,000 in the U.K.
What should I do?
If you downloaded anything from 9apps.com, you should uninstall all of those apps immediately just to be safe. Although WhatsApp was the main app infected with Agent Smith, there were others.
You should also regularly scan your phone for viruses. Free apps like Malwarebytes can do that for you lickety-split.
Should I uninstall WhatsApp forever?
Although WhatsApp has had virus attacks in the past including a spyware attack a few months back, this one doesn’t seem to be their fault. Only downloads from 9apps.com appear to be harmful.
If you enjoy using WhatsApp or if you need it on a daily basis, you can still keep doing so. Just make sure you download it from a safe source.
