Why didn't F-Secure detect malware on my Android device?

JulianD

I've been trialing F-Secure as my Dad uses it on his PC and Tablet at the bank's insistence. By coincidence, an app I've had installed on my phone for some years developed malware tendencies yesterday. It was spawning browser windows for dubious websites. I did a scan with F-Secure SAFE which said that all was well. That doesn't seem very good for a charged-for anti-malware solution. Is SAFE just not able to detect such malware?

I tracked the problem down by using Google dev tools debugging to discover the initial website that the spawned windows load. By Googling this, I determined the problem was the app "Bluetooth Auto Connect" which seems to have been removed from the Google App Store. The information about this app now being malware is in the public domain (I'm not allowed to post the link here). Does F-Secure not use such intelligence? At the very least, could it not have identified that an installed App was no longer available on the App Store and therefore might be an issue?

As I say, I'd expect more for a not-free anti-malware solution.

[Deleted User]

@JulianD

Our team have added a detection Adware to the sample.

For the users that got this still installed on their devices, the file will be blocked/quarantined through F-Secure's Security Cloud.

Thank you for your input and sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

[Deleted User]

Hello @JulianD 👋

May I ask whether you refer to this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluetooth.auto.connect&hl=en_US&gl=US ?

Thank you for your reply.

JulianD

Hi Lucas,

Thanks for getting back to me. It was actually the app with the ID org.myklos.btautoconnect. As I say, it's not available on the Play Store anymore.

Best regards,

Julian

[Deleted User]

Hi @JulianD ,

Thank you for your clarification.

I assure you we will look into that and come back with more information.

Thank you for your understanding.