A new piece of malware that has been affecting Android devices is said to be particularly sneaky, and may even be spying on you when you think that your phone is already shut down.
Research from AVG has shown that the new malware (which they have yet to give a name to) hijacks the device and the shutting down process, making it appear as though your phone has switched off, but it remains on.
Rather than actually turning off, it plays an animation that replicates the shut down of your Android device, and then the screen goes black. In that state, the phone can take pictures without your knowledge, send messages to someone else, and can record calls when you use it.
AVG have yet to state how widespread the malware is or which devices it can affect (Mashable reached out for confirmation but have yet to hear back), but they did state that if you are concerned about your privacy that you should remove the battery in your device to ensure that it is fully off.
Via Mashable. Main pic via Uncalno Tekno/Flickr
