Multiple infections on Kindle can't be removed

[slowhandslee]

Hi. Have an Amazon kindle fire tablet. After reset to factory defaults there is an app called 'Hot gir' which can be stopped and data can be cleared but it cannot be removed. 

As soon as connected to internet device turns on permission to download apps outside Amazon and starts to populate with various malware, mostly chinese soft porn.

Malwarebytes fond sone 30 infections but cannot remove them as they are ';actory installed'

Any advice would be appreciated.

[a_Mbam]

Hi Slowhandslee,

Did you purchase the Kindle directly from Amazon? If this is preloaded malware then it's not a genuine Amazon version of the device, might have started that way and flashed with infected ROM.

Unfortunately, because these apps are installed at the system level they cannot be removed by MBAMM. This is a common thing that the bad guys have been doing, preinstalling malware on rogue device to resell.

I would suggest contacting Amazon to get help doing a full factory restore. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/forums/kindleqna/ref=fb_forum_kindle

An alternative would be root the device yourself and remove apps. Advanced steps, try at your own risk. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2337634

Regards,

-Armando

[slowhandslee]

Cheers Armando. Not actually my Kindle. Did not occur to me it could be a resold device, I will ask the question. I could only think a rogue site could drop a 'your kindle needs to be updated' message and flash the rom that way. Is that possible? I think the value of the device may mean it's not worth the hassle of recovering.

[a_Mbam]

Yeah, it is possible for a rogue site drop these apps but they usually wouldn't be installed at the system level. You might want to look into flashing the device with a legit version of the Kindle OS.

Regards,

-Armando