14 DAY TRIAL // The fight against malware continues on Android and Google has just made one big step towards giving users more control over their devices when compromised apps are being deployed.
XDA Developers discovered that Android 7.1 ships with a panic mode that is triggered by repeatedly pressing the back button for times in a row. Once this panic mode is activated, the device is brought back to the desktop, closing every app that’s running and bypassing any further locks.
The panic detection system works with a grace time of 0.3 seconds per tap, as Android needs to detect whether the user is indeed trying to activate this feature or only pressing the back button to go to a previous screen or app.
Why such a system makes sense
While at first glance such a panic detection feature does not make much sense, it’s actually one very useful feature that lands just at the right time.
Ransomware is increasing at a super-fast pace, not only on Windows, but also on other platforms, including Android, encrypting files and locking devices until users pay for the decryption key.
Theoretically, Google’s new feature should be able to bypass the lock system that ransomware typically comes with, so by pressing the back button 4 times, users would be capable of going back to the desktop and then removing the app that they believed contains the malware or install security software that could help clean the infection.
What’s important to know is that while the feature is there, it’s not enabled by default and every Android OEM need to activate it on their devices.
Google hasn’t yet announced this feature officially, and there’s a good chance that future forms of malware specifically targeting Android would employ systems that could block the panic detection system. This is why Google should continue developing security features for its mobile operating system, while at the same time trying to block scam apps from reaching Android devices in the first place.
Earlier today, it was discovered that a new Android malware called SpyDealer could compromise devices and allow hackers to spy on users, with capabilities of recording phone calls and taking photos with the camera.