Is “Android.PUA.DebugKey” a malware and how to fix it FAQs

What is Android.PUA.DebugKey?

That’s the software that warns you if the antivirus finds a potentially unwanted app (PUA). It, itself, isn’t malware.

ref: https://www.quora.com/Is-Android-PUA-DebugKey-a-malware-or-virus-and-is-it-malicious

Android.PUA.DebugKey is an alert that appears after scanning an APK file with an online scanner such as VirusTotal. This means that the downloaded APK uses the debug signature provided by Android Studio. Debug signatures provided by Android Studio are for testing purposes only. Android developers personally sign their APK files before publishing their apps on the Google Play store.

MOD APK files are signed with debug signature only. Modders have no way of getting the developer's signature. Thus if you are downloading apks from TapTap for games like pubg bgmi or free fire, you are very unlikely to see it, because apks from TapTap global are usually given by their own developers.

Is Android.PUA.DebugKey unsafe?

No.

As mentioned above, Android.PUA.DebugKey is a false positive alert 99% of the time.

However, we are not saying that using the app is completely safe. A detection of Android.PUA.DebugKey means that your app has been modified and a malicious actor may have injected malware into your app.

Personally I recommend looking for another APK of hers and installing it only if you trust the developer.

How to Fix Android.PUA.DebugKey?

To fix Android.PUA.DebugKey issue, please follow these tutorials:

- Download APK File on Windows or Linux PC

- Install JDK and apktool on Windows or Linux PC

- Install Downloaded APK with apktool Go to folder Run

apktool Extract code from APK using . Compile successfully repairs Android.PUA.DebugKey

If you don't have a PC, just use apktool on Termux or install ApkTool M on your Android phone.

With APKTool M you get a GUI version or apktool.jar that doesn't require Java installed to decompile APKs. It comes with a code editor that helps you edit code within the app and compile your project. Compile the project and you'll get a modified APK file with the original signature replaced.

Also see:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApksApps/comments/el71kp/androidpuadebugkey/