A villainous Android app that takes a picture of watching an adult video and requires a ransom

A vicious Android application ' Adult Player ' with ransomware, which can be used for data theft / voyeurism and blackmail when installed, has been discovered.

More Adult Themed Android Ransomware | Zscaler
https://www.zscaler.jp/blogs/security-research/more-adult-themed-android-ransomware

According to a study by Zscaler Research , when you install the Android app 'Adult Player' and play an adult video, the owner's photo is taken through the front camera of the smartphone, the screen is locked, and 'I want to scatter the photo.' If not, the message 'Pay 500 dollars (about 60,000 yen) now' or 'If you do not want to erase all the data in the terminal, pay 500 dollars now' will appear.

$ 500 can now be paid from your smartphone through Paypal and users will not be able to do anything else. Even if the terminal is restarted, the same message will be displayed immediately and the screen will be locked.

However, Zscaler Research has found a workaround that avoids paying the ransom. You can start the device in safe mode, disable Adult Player from 'Settings' → 'Security' → 'Device Administrator', and uninstall it from 'Settings → Apps'. To start safe mode, with Nexus , hold down the power button with the terminal turned on, and then hold down 'Turn off' in the dialog box. Then, in the dialog that appears further, tap 'OK' to start in safe mode. Xperia has a similar procedure, but how to start safe mode depends on the device.

In addition, Zscaler Research advises to turn off the 'Unknown sources' item and not install apps provided by other than Google Play to avoid sacrifice due to ransomware.