But the Android version of Super Mario, which is available in third-party Android apps stores, is actually a fake application containing malware. There are not a single, but diverse applications that float in untrustworthy application stores. One of the applications is called Super Mario; Gets full control of the device after requesting the edit, read and receive/send text messages privileges and go as far as capturing images and videos, along with using the phone's GPS to track your location.
The news was broken by Trend Micro, a Tokyo-based IT security firm, which identified that its security research team has discovered malicious applications of the Super Mario game about 90,000 times in 2016. However, the company claims that Such games applications Super Mario State around since 2012 but, due to the fact that there is news about the Android version of the game release sometime in 2017, the frequency and number of these malicious applications have been doubled.
This is the percentage of users who have downloaded fake applications of Super Mario games on their Android devices:
Indonesia 41%, India 33%, Mexico 8%, Japan 4%, Philippines 3%, United States 2% and other 9%.
The application mentioned above is one of the infected applications that prompts users to install an update called 9Apps, which requests additional rights such as audio recording, access to the SD card and changing calendar entries.
This particular application also offers an imitated version of the actual NES Super Mario Bros., game. However, according to Super Mario analysis, the application also shows "unnecessary icons, pop-ups, banners [and] installs other applications and performs other intrusive activities without any user input."
If you click on any of the ads shown, the applications will redirect you to other websites or adult websites that will try to install other applications on your device. It goes without saying that these new applications will be loaded with other malware that will then request administrative privileges on your device.
It is recommended to avoid downloading any third-party app and just rely on official stores like the Google Play Store. Also on your android device, click Settings and uncheck the box "Unknown sources" if it is enabled.
Remember, this is not the first time cybercriminals are using a famous gambling application to infect informed users. A few months ago, the Pokémon Go application was also used to infect those who were looking for their Android application days before its official launch in the Google Play Store.
