AndroidOS_HiddenAd.HRXAA

Android adware continues to be one of the most widely spread 'cyber threats' when it comes to tablets and smartphones. While adware is not harmful, it may impair the user's ability to use their device, as well as spam them with unwanted advertisements that may promote all sorts of dubious content. One of the latest campaigns was uncovered in July 2019, and it was carried with the use of over a hundred dodgy Android apps hosted on the Google Play Store.
 
One of the adware samples used in this campaign is AndroidOS_HiddenAd.HRXAA, and its primary purpose was to bombard the user with marketing content as soon as it was initialized. Some of the apps used to hide the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.HRXAA's payload were promoted as free games or camera-enhancement applications – content that users are likely to be interested in. While the majority of the bogus apps were found on the Google Play Store, a significant fraction of them also was hosted on 3rd-party Android stores.
 

Nagging Advertisements Generate Income for the Adware's Author

A notable feature that researchers saw in the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.HRXAA adware is its ability to avoid sandboxes, controlled environments used for malware analysis. In addition to the sandbox-evasion techniques, the authors of the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.HRXAA also use a cunning technique to display full-screen advertisements on the compromised device. The adware hides its icons, and runs as an invisible overlay over the entire screen – however, the 'invisibility' is then replaced by a full-screen ad that the user cannot close. Restarting the device would prove useless since the adware would start automatically and render the device useless once again.
 
While the Google Play Store security team has taken the necessary measures to remove the adware-ridden apps, they had already managed to rack up nearly 10,000,000 downloads. It is recommended to protect your Android devices from such software by using an advanced security tool, as well as by staying away from dubious applications without excellent credibility.