Elusive Malware: Abusing permissions and monitering?

[Potted Plant]

Hello everyone!

I received my new Galaxy Note 4 yesterday, and shortly after setting it up, I noticed an application which was running in the background. It was called "Application installer" and had access to every permission in existence. It had the ability to view sensitive logs, send emails, redirect calls, record audio and video, mirror the screen, etc. This was rather suspicious, so I didn't take chances and booted in recovery mode, then restored the phone. When I set it up again, "Application installer" was still there. (Is malware able to persist through factory resets?)

After a few more resets to no avail, I figured it was about time to ask the community. This being my first post, I had to create an account. As soon as I entered my password to create the account, the phone shut off. Despite having 50% battery, I can no longer turn it on. This is a little worrying. At any rate, I need to get this resolved.

a) Can malware persist through factory resets?
b) Do any of you have an "Application installer" application? (I found it under the application manager under ALL.)
c) What should my next steps be?

 

[Smply_Rcklss]

Application installer is just that, it installs your apps. There's no malware or anything similar to that. You're safe.

Tapatalk'n On The M8