The malware we've covered on Mobile Threat Monday is no laughing matter. Text scams and ransomware have the potential to really destroy a person's life. But because of the hacker community's occasional love of theatrics, some threats we've looked at, from fake versions of popular games to hypothetical vaping viruses, have been more than a little ridiculous.   

However, this week's malicious app, reported by our security friends at Malwarebytes, is pretty plain as far as Android malware goes. Its motives and methods are all things we've seen before. But just because this isn't the most exciting or unique malware we've encountered, don't make the mistake of underestimating the threat it poses. 

F for Fake

The malware, identified by Malwarebytes as Android/Trojan.HiddenApp, is called Fake System App. And every other detail about this threat is as generic is that name. The app lurks in unregulated third-party markets. It targets the ever-expanding victim market of Chinese-speaking Android device owners. That's all fairly boilerplate.

Once Fake System App successfully infects your phone it begins downloading APKs to external storage, like an SD card, without your knowledge or permission. Those APKs could include spam, more malware, or all sorts of other unwanted junk that could benefit the hacker at the victim's expense. According to Malwarebytes, the app attempts to silently install these downloaded APKs using shell commands.

Fake System App then connects to a remote server for additional instructions. Again, the app could perform all kinds of new malicious functions after receiving new orders from the server. Even worse, if Fake System App gains root access to your phone and relays that info to the remote server, your device and all of its private, sensitive data would be at the hacker's mercy. That kind of deep, powerful access is extremely difficult to revoke. Scary, but unsurprising. 

Staying Safe

The good news is because Fake System App seems to be pretty standard malware, most of our standard tips for staying safe should apply. Chinese speaker or not, you should always download your apps solely from the Google Play store so you can be sure they are legitimate. You should also get yourself some Android antivirus software. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Android is a fair choice, and Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus and Bitdefender Mobile Security and Antivirus are both PCMag Editors' Choice award winners.

From Stagefright to Heartbleed, the media will always prefer to highlight the scariest, flashiest new security threats. But sometimes your privacy can be comprised by the most boring of sources.