Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Chinese brands like Huawei, Honor and Vivo are displaying strange ‘Security Threat’ warnings related to Google on their phones and tablets.
The alert urges removal of the Google app and says that the app was detected as ‘TrojanSMS-PA’ malware.
Users are advised to immediately uninstall, as the app is now considered high risk.
According to the warning seen by Bleeping Computer, the warning is in the form of a pop-up and has the words Security Threat at the top.
When the user clicks on the ‘View Details’ option, an alert warns that the app has been detected sending SMS messages secretly.
“The app was detected to send SMS privately, induce users to pay with adult content, download/install the app privately, or steal personal information, which may cause property damage and privacy leak,” the security alert details.
“We recommend uninstalling it immediately.”
This issue has been reported by many users on Google support forums (Vivo post), Reddit (Vivo thread), Huawei forums, and various other Android communities.
BleepingComputer contacted Google about whether a recent app update might have caused a sudden increase in malware alerts. But a spokesperson said Google Play Protect did not trigger the alert.
“This security notification was not triggered by Google Play Protect and appears to come from a device that is not Play Protect certified and does not have access to officially download core Google applications from Play,” said a Google spokesperson, quoted from Bleeping Computer, Monday (6/11 /2023).
Google advises users to contact the device manufacturer for more information.
BleepingComputer has independently verified that this warning is displayed on Huawei devices with core Google apps pre-installed (released before the ban) and no other pre-loaded apps.
Therefore, Google’s explanation does not accurately reflect the types of Android devices affected by this warning.
Once confirmed, this warning is displayed by the ‘Huawei Optimizer’ app on Huawei devices. However, it is not clear which app displays the warning for Vivo or Honor phones.
If the user has not side-loaded the Google application on a Huawei, Vivo or Honor cellphone, it is best to ignore the warning and continue running the device as usual.
Additionally, while it is likely that this warning is a false positive, there has been no official comment from the device maker confirming this.
The proposed solution to disable “false alarms” is to go to Settings > Apps > Optimizer > App Info > Storage > Clear Cache / Clear Data, then reboot the device.
If it doesn’t work, try deleting and then reinstalling the Huawei Optimizer app.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
Next Article
Startling! Not Xiaomi, this is a cellphone brand selling well in China
(dem)