Tecno, a brand under Transsion Holdings, a Chinese company which is popular for its cheap smartphones and also the leading brand in Africa and some Asian countries like India was caught stealing data and money from people around the world.
According to a recent report by Buzz Feed, cheap Tecno smartphones like W2 contains malware that steals data and money from customers by secretly downloading apps and subscribing the user to the services without his knowledge or permission.
These malware apps create unnecessary pop-ups and interrupts users chats, calls, and others giving the users a terrible experience while using his/her phone. A case point was that of Mxolosi, a 41yr old unemployed man based in South Africa who bought the Tecno W2. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the device, telling Buzz Feed that on several occasions he’d find his prepaid data mysteriously used up and messages about paid subscriptions to apps he’d never asked for.
After a collaborative investigation by BuzzFeed News and Secure-D, a mobile security service, it was discovered that Mxolosi’s Tecno W2 was infected with xHelper and Triada malware.
BuzzFeed News quotes a Transsion spokesperson to have confirmed that some of the company’s Tecno W2 phones contained the hidden Triada and xHelper programs, blaming an unidentified “vendor in the supply chain process.” The company also hinted that they have always attached great importance to consumers’ data security and product safety.
The company also said it had delivered fixes for Triada in March 2018 and xHelper in late 2019. However, the issue doesn’t appear to have gone away. Secure-D said it was still blocking Triada and xHelper on Transsion phones through April 2020, and it may simply be dormant.
How to Remove XHelper and Triada Malware on Your Tecno Phones
Since I have also experienced the above-mentioned malware on a Tecno W2 device, I can tell you that a simple Factory reset will not do the job. Even after factory resetting my Tecno W2 device at the time I still had it, the malware keeps reinstalling itself but I was finally able to deal with it after installing a custom ROM.