Keep your Phone Updated

Agent Smith

You most likely first heard these two words when watching the Matrix trilogy. But we aren't talking about the Matrix, or some supernatural entity. Instead we are talking about the latest Android operating system based Malware, and is known to infect around 25 Million Phones. 

So how does this happen before anyone notices?

This new "Agent Smith" targets older versions of the Android operating system and its open source app store. It was found that most of the cases of "Agent Smith" were from a Third-Party App store called 9App. Once downloaded, the malware looks at the existing applications on your phone and replaces them with a "new" version that has the malware installed. This new version then has fake ads that report back on your use. 

Agent Smith has been found in the largest percentage (40%) on phones running Android 5.0, 34% running version 6.0 and the lowest (9%) on version 8.0. That alone should be a reason enough to update your phone when you get prompted too, with each update adding security features and fixing any new known security issues.