A user reports that their Android phone has become painfully slow and unresponsive since installing a free "flashlight" app they found on an unfamiliar website. Task Manager shows an unknown background process holding the CPU at 90%, the battery drains quickly, and cellular data usage has doubled overnight. Which mobile OS security issue is the most likely cause of the degraded response time?
A malicious application that was sideloaded from an unofficial store
Developer mode was enabled with USB debugging left on
Near-field communication (NFC) is continuously scanning for nearby tags
The device is nearly out of internal storage space, causing swap thrashing
Background CPU spikes, rapid battery drain, and excessive data usage that begin immediately after sideloading software from an unofficial source strongly indicate the app is malicious or is masquerading as a legitimate utility. Such unauthorized/malicious apps often mine cryptocurrency, display adware, or exfiltrate data-activities that consume significant processor cycles and network bandwidth, slowing the device. Developer mode, low storage, or NFC polling would not typically create high sustained CPU utilization directly after a single app install.
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What does 'sideloading' mean in the context of Android devices?
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What precautions can users take to avoid installing malicious apps?