So I don't know if this is a question for here or security.stackexchange.com but the thing is I installed a game that ask me for root access to my system it seems suspicious and strange why will a game be asking for root access I assume to myself that it is some type of malware and I uninstalled the game yeah a game asking for root access what a malware and is that normal? the game is snipper 3D assassin free games By fun games for free
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This is far from normal. They are trying to get root users to soft brick their devices. Probably more ransomware.– GiantTreeFeb 5, 2016 at 19:47
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I knew it should I make a report to Google?– 0000Feb 5, 2016 at 19:48
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That's all you can do. Write a bad review about it and remember to look closely on what your games want to do.– GiantTreeFeb 5, 2016 at 19:53
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Okay write a bad review!– 0000Feb 5, 2016 at 19:53
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Care to share the name of the app?– Paul RatazziFeb 5, 2016 at 19:57
2 Answers
It shouldn't be... There is no viable reason I can think of for a game to request or need root permissions.
If this game is from an official channel like Play Store, Amazon App Store, or F-Droid, do not grant the permission and remove it immediately. This should also be reported to the appropriate app market and given a comment or review warning other users of the potential problems.
This is likely a way of hijacking your device, installing malware of somekind, or ransomware of some kind.
If you granted root permissions and run the app, I would immediately backup important data and factory reset the device, but keep in mind that root permissions can allow the app to read and write to the /system partition which survives a factory reset, so a reflashing of the factory firmware, or wiping of system and reflashing a custom ROM is highly recommended.
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Good... Now I just have to wonder how many people they have gotten, and how long it will take to get this app removed. Feb 5, 2016 at 20:12
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Well here is the name of the game it is snipper 3D assassin free games By fun games for free.– 0000Feb 5, 2016 at 20:14
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It's probably just an anti-cheat mechanism. I still would avoid it like the plague and leave a bad review, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's trying to hijack your device. Plenty of legitimate games like MLB PI, etc. use this controversial - but allowed - practice to prevent cheating. Feb 5, 2016 at 21:08
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If your phone is rooted and the game detects it, then it will ask for root access in an attempt to prevent you from cheating, blocking ads, etc. If you deny root access, the game will most likely exit or crash.
You have two choices if you really want to play the game:
- Play on a non-rooted device.
- Install Xposed Framework with RootCloak module on your rooted device so that the game cannot detect that you're rooted.
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1I never saw a game asking for root access in my life and I don't trust it to get full access to my system it seems suspicious like some type of malware.– 0000Feb 5, 2016 at 20:45
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I don't blame you. But I've seen it and there are forum and reddit posts about it, so it does happen and obviously some shady devs feel justified in doing it. Although I don't agree with it, I would still call it a viable reason. The better approach is to just exit and refuse to run like is done with Android Pay and the like. Feb 5, 2016 at 20:54
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It would help if you support your claim using those XDA and reddit posts. The popular opinion seems to be about malware, although theirs is not backed by anything credible either!– Firelord ♦Feb 5, 2016 at 23:53