There's A Nasty Android App Being Passed Around That Can Send Text Messages Without You Knowing About It

According to a post on Mashable, IT security firm Kaspersky has found the most sophisticated trojan on the Android platform to date.

This advanced piece of malware is capable of sending texts to phone numbers that charge money for each message, downloading and installing other malware, and even sending malware to other nearby devices through Bluetooth.

Known to security experts as "Backdoor.AndroidOS.Obad.a," this trojan is so incredibly powerful because it tricks users into giving it administrator privileges. It then uses a previously-undiscovered Android security exploit to hide itself from the list of running applications, making it difficult to track down.

According to a post by Roman Unuchek on Securelist, the trojan has been distributed via text message spam. To protect yourself, avoid installing applications from links sent to your phone. Only use Google's official Google Play app store.