Mobile malware masquerades as Opera Mini browser

A malware targeting mobile devices is now trying to fool users into downloading and installing it, by disguising itself as a version of Opera Mini, Opera’s mobile browser. Computer security firm Trend Micro said it encountered a Russian-language mobile website that informs visitors they should upgrade their version of Opera Mini. “The site, which is in Russian, appears to look like the Opera site. It immediately informs visitors that they need to upgrade their version of Opera Mini," it said in a blog post. All of the links in website lead to the download of the malicious file OperaMini.jar, which is now detected as J2ME_FAKEBROWS.A. Trend Micro said this may be part of cybercriminals’ efforts to exploit the recent rise of mobile computing. “When executed into the device, it checks if the mobile phone uses certain service centers and then proceeds to sending text messages to premium numbers. It affects the mobile devices that support MIDlets — a Java program for embedded devices, specifically the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME)," it said. It advised users to check Opera’s official website, http://opera.com or http://operamini.com if they want to install the browser into their devices. — TJD, GMA News