This is what can happen if you try be sneaky and download an app straight off the web instead of going through the vetted app storefronts: a ransomware porn app.

Adult Play appears to be a pornography streaming app, but it actually takes a picture of the user with their phone’s front-facing camera. It then locks the phone and holds the picture ransom. Its target? You unfortunate Android users.

It’s the second ransomware to be discovered by the global-based information security company, Zscaler.

The app freezes the users’ phone, displaying a message and the illicit pic and only unfreezes it when a ransom amount of $500 (R7 000) is paid to a Paypal account. The screen stays persistent even after a reboot, but, according to the analysts at Zscaler, there is a way to get around it:

The phone must be booted up in safe mode, where – once in device administrator mode – the app can be selected and disabled.

So to all you Android users who are into the porn scene, just stick to Google Play next time.

[source: skynews]