https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/us-government-funded-android-phones-come-preinstalled-with-unremovable-malware/US Government-funded Android phones come preinstalled with unremovable malwareThe UMX U686CL is provided by Virgin Mobile's Assurance Wireless program. Assurance Wireless is an offshoot of the Lifeline Assistance program, a Federal Communications Commissions plan that makes free or government-subsidized phones service available to millions of low-income families. The program is often referred to as the Obama Phone because it expanded in 2008, when President Barack Obama took office. The UMX U686CL runs Android and is available for $35 to qualifying users.
Researchers at Malwarebytes said on Thursday that the device comes with some nasty surprises. Representatives of Sprint, the owner of Virgin Mobile, meanwhile said it didn't believe the apps were malicious.
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Once the library is loaded into memory, it installs software Malwarebytes calls Android/Trojan.HiddenAds. It aggressively displays ads. Malwarebytes researcher Nathan Collier said company users have reported that the hidden library installs a variant of HiddenAds, but the researchers were unable to reproduce that installation, possibly because the library waits some amount of time before doing so.
The malware that installs these programs is hidden in the phone's settings app. That makes it virtually impossible to uninstall, since the phone can't operate properly without it. "Uninstall the Settings app, and you just made yourself a pricey paper weight," Collier wrote.
The second unpleasant surprise delivered by the UMX U686CL is something called Wireless Update. While it provides a mechanism for downloading and installing phone updates, it also loads a barrage of unwanted apps without permission. ...
Obama phones are, I mean have, malware.
The things are made by Unimax, of whom I've never heard.
