Android TV boxes with malware pre-installed

[justinrh 174]

FYI

T95, T95Max, X12-Plus, and X88-Pro-10

Android TV Boxes Sold on Amazon Come Pre-Loaded with Malware

T95 Android TV (Allwinner H616) includes malware right out-of-the-box

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by justinrh

[Luke 37090]

Yea I read about this. Not good for fans of cheap Android boxes.

[CharlieMurphy 73]

1 hour ago, justinrh said:

AllWinner T95, AllWinner T95Max, RockChip X12-Plus, and RockChip X88-Pro-10

This is attributed to the wrong companies. Allwinner and Rockchip are semiconductor companies that make the SoCs found in these Trojan Android devices sold by Amazon. It would be more accurate to say, Amazon T95, Amazon X12-Plus.

Attributing it this way is like saying "Amlogic Chromecast with Google TV." It's obviously a Google product with an Amlogic S850X2.

[justinrh 174]

So these are Amazon products, or just sold on the Amazon platform?

I got that exact text from an article - thanks for the info.

[CharlieMurphy 73]

Sold by Amazon under generic brand names like, "IDEALROYAL." Amazon may be the only US retailer selling them though. Otherwise I bet they are on Aliexpress and such.

The only reason I make the distinction is that I see Rockchip SoCs in legitimate devices all the time and if it's is someone's first exposure to the brand it would give the wrong impression maybe.

[RanmaCanada 345]

This is why I tell people to go to Freaktab and get a community rom for said boxes.  It's been well known for ages (at least a decade) that you do not use the stock rom on these chinese boxes.

[CharlieMurphy 73]

Thanks for sharing, I wasn't aware of Freaktab. I'll check that out.

32 minutes ago, RanmaCanada said:

It's been well known for ages (at least a decade) that you do not use the stock rom on these chinese boxes.

I agree. Amazon is selling these to the general public though so I can't downplay it. If the tech community thinks it's a problem, and a security researcher finds a problem, wth is Amazon doing? Building a Chinese botnet in North America on purpose?

Edited May 21, 2023 by CharlieMurphy