If you have a Star N9500 Chinese Mobile Smartphone then you may have been alarmed by the recent discovery regarding the embedded spyware which is reported to send details of your contact list, text messages, call logs and entire phone identity to some unknown server in China.
First, let me just state that the spyware infection issue regarding the Star N9500 is not a new thing, nor has it only recently been discovered!. The existence of Spyware has haunted many Star Mobile Phones since 2012, and the issue with the N9500 in particular was being discussed on Android based internet forums, right back to August 2013. However it has only now been drawn to the attention of the press, after the recent report conducted by G-Data “discovered” the infection.
So are Ebay wrong to pull the sales of the N9500?, and should you, as a Star N9500 user be concerned about your privacy?. In short, Yes there is some need to be concerned about any hidden application which can *potentially* access your phone information, read your text messages, upload your contact details and remotely control your phone and its hardware without your knowledge, although at this point in time, there is no suggestion that all of this has actually happened, and so far, despite reports of various Star Smartphones having spyware installed in them dating back to 2012, there is no documented report of anybody actually having their bank account emptied or personal details stolen so it is important to keep some prospective on the problem and not succumb to media hype and internet speculation.
The spyware which is believed to be infecting the Star N9500 is a Uupay.D and UUpay.A variant. Whilst this Trojan can actively access your phone remotely and control hardware such as cameras and microphones without your knowledge this trojan is normally used to serve advertisements, send premium rate text messages and secretly download Chinese applications – usually whilst you are asleep.
So if you have ever found strange, unknown Chinese apps installed on your N9500, or have had text messages sent or received in a Chinese language then there is a very good chance that your phone is infected, and you should take steps to remove the Spyware infection from your Star N9500 as soon as possible.
For information and step by step instructions on removing the Chinese Spyware Infection from a Star N9500 or indeed any Chinese Smart Phone, please read Removing Chinese Smartphone Spyware
