WhatsApp users, ignore messages from 'Priyanka' - it's a worm

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Jack

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Jan 24, 2011
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Sophos said:
A worm has spread through WhatsApp on Android, changing contact group names to "Priyanka" as it crawls through.

In some worst-case scenarios, the worm changes all your contact names to 'Priyanka' too.

According to The Register, it spreads manually, relying on victims to accept and install a contact file from a friend, named "Priyanka," before it starts its funny business.

As malware goes, Priyanka is pretty tame - simply ignoring it and abstaining from installing the file will keep it from wreaking any havoc.

The Register reports that alerts about the infection started showing up on social media sites a few days ago. The infection appears to be limited, given a relatively low level of Twitter messages.

If you do get infected, it's reportedly easy to remove.

TheAndroidSoul has supplied screenshots of an infected Android, along with instructions on how to remove Priyanka.

In a nutshell:

1.Turn off all internet connectivity on your phone, including WiFi, mobile data and Bluetooth tethering, to keep the worm from spreading to your contacts list.
2.In your Contacts list, search for and delete "Priyanka".
3.Go to your phone's Settings menu.
4.Select Apps or Application Manager and select WhatsApp from the list.
5.Select Force stop.
6. Select Clear data.

WhatsApp will appear as if newly installed. Go through setup, after which it should automatically restore conversations.
Hands on smartphone. Image courtesy of ShutterstockAlthough this particular worm doesn't sound all that troublesome, we'd be smart to take it as a low-risk warning about the dangers of falling for social engineering stunts.

Read more: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/07/11/whatsapp-users-ignore-messages-from-priyanka-its-a-worm/
 

Ink

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Jan 8, 2011
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Exploit has been patched, but not officially announced according to a test by TheAndroidSoul

Update 2
The most recent Whatsapp update that was pushed on 10th July (version 2.10.768) seems to have fixed the issue. Although, the update change log doesn’t mention anything specific about Priyanka except for bug fixes and improvements and also something about “improved treatment of address book duplicates” (which could mean something). But anyway, after installing the update I tried to save the Priyanka contact file again and it failed to make any mess. So, I think, it’s pretty safe to say that the exploit has been fixed.
 
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