In the end of 2016, Nintendo released “Super Mario Run” which soon took the world by storm right away.

Though it is only available on App Store for iOS users, Super Mario Run still created record-breaking downloads for more than 40 million times within the first four days.

As the release on Android still has no date beyond 2017, many Android users who could hardly wait started looking for APKs of Super Mario Run from unknown sources.

An interesting game or an attack vector?

However, these APKs from third-party developers are not as safe as they claim to be. In fact, many of these apps turn out to be malware or viruses. Users are lured to grant these wrapped malware full device administrator rights to install some other apps.

After the Super Mario APK is downloaded, users are required to allow the app to modify Android core security settings for further installation from “unknown sources”.

Some of these applications request for permissions which enable them to do bad things. After granted the permissions, these apps are able to receive and send text messages, take photos, record videos, or even gain full control of these users’ Android devices.

Another malicious app named “Super Mario” was found to conduct intrusive activities, including creating additional icons, pushing pop-up and banner ads, and installing other unwanted apps on users’ devices. If accidentally clicking on these ads or icons, users will be redirected to adult or suspicious sites.

Be patient and wait for the official release. It’s coming soon.

Downloading applications from unknown sources certainly increases the risk to compromise your devices. To protect yourself, you can go to Setting –> Security –> Device Administration, and turn off the “Unknown sources” option.

Waiting is not easy, but here comes the good news for Android users. Despite Nintendo has not yet announced the official release date for the Android version, users now can pre-register in the Google Play store to get informed immediately once the game goes live.