If you have been using the SmartTube app to remove ads from YouTube, the developer is now warning that malware has been bundled into the app. You need to take action.
The SmartTube app is popular on Android TV, Google TV, and Fire TV devices, where it must be sideloaded because it is not available through official app stores.
The app provides access to YouTube much as you know it, but without ads and sponsored segments in videos. This is possible because YouTube’s videos are not copy-protected. The app also offers features such as Picture-in-Picture (PiP), which are not available in the official YouTube app.
Malware bundled with recent versions
The developer of SmartTube has admitted to AFTVNews that recent versions of the app have been infected with malware. As a result, the malware was included in both new installations and app updates released in November, specifically versions 30.43 and 30.47.
The issue occurred because the developer’s computer was infected during development, which compromised a digital signature. There are also various forks – alternative variants of the SmartTube app – that may now be infected as well.
Google has forcibly removed or disabled the SmartTube app on some devices. Apps installed via sideloading are not covered by Google’s standard security checks, which Google says is a key reason it plans to impose much stricter limitations on sideloading in the future.
What you should do now
The specific type of malware and its capabilities have not been disclosed, so it is unclear what it might do to affected devices or other devices on the same home network. However, you should take precautions.
AFTVNews recommends that you do more than simply uninstall the app. Instead, you should perform a full factory reset on every TV device on which SmartTube was installed. Because the app had privileged access to the Google and YouTube accounts connected to those devices, you should also keep a close eye on those accounts for any suspicious activity.
This advice applies to devices such as Chromecast with Google TV, Google TV Streamer, Nvidia Shield, Nokia streaming boxes, Strong streaming boxes, TCL Google TV sets, Philips Google TV sets, Sony Google TV sets, and similar products.
The developer states that SmartTube version 30.56 is now clean and free of malware.
