Watch Out For These Malware-Infected Android TV Boxes – SlashGear

According to a recent TechCrunch report, virulent malware has been found running rampant across two popular off-brand Android TV boxes that are sold on Amazon. The brands are AllWinner and RockChip, and the specific devices are the AllWinner T95, AllWinner T95Max, RockChip X12-Plus, and RockChip X88-Pro-10. These devices seem very appealing at a glance, since they’re cheaper than the major brands and allegedly offer extensive customizability. This is all a smokescreen, however.

Cybersecurity experts have found that the firmware in these Android TV boxes is infected with two kinds of malware. First, a clickbot, pulling up webpages from the dankest depths of the internet and clicking on ads to generate revenue, all while further infecting the device with malware loads from those ads. Secondly, a botnet network connection, connecting the device to a malicious network for purposes like mining cryptocurrency, conducting DDoS attacks, and of course, harvesting user data. The precise scale of this botnet network connection has not been determined, but it is estimated to be made up of anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand infected devices.