5 Signs Your Android Phone Has A Virus And Best Ways To Remove It
Even though your phone may not be running an entire desktop OS, that doesn’t mean it’s immune to malware. Several types of malware can infect your Android phone, so it’s essential to be aware of the red flags and know how to clean your device. This article will go over the most typical indicators of infection and the best ways to treat them.
5 Signs Your Android Phone Has A Virus
The good news is that there are no known Android viruses, and it’s doubtful that your phone will become infected with an actual computer virus anytime soon. Viruses are just one type of malicious software; other types that can infect your phone are adware, ransomware, scareware, spyware, and Trojans.
However, “virus” is still the most common shorthand for “malware.” Therefore, keep an eye out for these warnings that your Android device has malware.
1. The battery drains quickly.
Malware can rapidly deplete your battery for several reasons, including its excessive use of network resources and a lack of consideration for the device’s power reserves in its design. Thus, if your phone gets warm even when you’re not using its processing power, this could be a sign of malware.
2. Your accounts spam others.
There are a few, primarily inadequate, explanations if people you know, like, and work with report receiving spam emails. For instance, if your email account or your phone has malware, you may find that your inbox is full of spam. In any case, you should suspect that you have malware if multiple people have reported strange behavior from your inbox.
3. Lots of app crashes occur.
If you start receiving alerts about app crashes, even though you know that most common apps probably don’t crash very often, you should look into the possibility that you have malware on your device. As mentioned before, a large portion of malware is clumsily made and prone to malfunction, often exhibiting incompatibilities with both widely used apps and Android. The bottom line is malicious software is much more likely to crash than legitimate software.
4. Your phone starts using more data.
A similar phenomenon can occur if malware is responsible for your phone’s excessive background data transfers. Be wary of data limit notifications or overage charges if your mobile plan doesn’t include unlimited data.
5. Lots of pop-up ads.
Adware, as the name implies, is malicious software whose primary purpose is to flood users with advertisements. Upon infection, you may see a dramatic increase in pop-ups (typically when using Chrome). Adware is rarely stealthy. Some adware is even scareware, which means that the messages you see will warn that your phone is infected with malware or is not functioning correctly and offer to fix it for a fee.
How to Remove Virus From An Android Phone
You can do a few things to clean your phone and get rid of the malware if it is showing symptoms of malware.
Clear your browser’s cache
Due to the prevalence of malware, clearing your browser’s cache should be the first line of defense. Malware stored in the phone’s memory can be removed in this way.
These general steps should get you to your phone’s cache settings, but your mileage may vary depending on your model.
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Apps.
3. Go to the list of apps (you might need to tap See all apps) and tap Chrome (or whichever browser you use).
4. Select Storage and cache.
5. Select Clear cache.
6. Select Manage space and Clear All Data.
Enable Google Play Protect
Google Play Protect is a free anti-malware app that scans your phone for malware and malware-like behavior in apps downloaded from the Google Play Store. Install Google Play Protect from the Play Store immediately if you aren’t already using it.
Remove unknown apps in safe mode
Malware may have already infiltrated your phone and installed malicious software, making it impossible to uninstall the apps the usual way. Alternatively, you can restart your phone into safe mode, which loads only the bare necessities before allowing you to delete apps before malware has a chance to begin.
Safe mode’s activation process can vary by phone model, so it’s a good idea to do some research to find out how to do it on your specific device. However, this should apply to many models: Hold the Power button until the shutdown screen appears from the lock screen. Press and hold the switch labeled “Power Off.” Restarting the device in safe mode should become available shortly. Go ahead and click on it.
Anti-malware software
It could be overkill to install additional anti-malware software on your Android device. Anti-malware software may not be worth the cost for the average person because of how unlikely they will become infected. However, a higher level of caution may be required if you are currently infected or have ever been exposed to the virus.
Reset the phone to factory settings
If all else fails, resetting your phone to factory settings is a foolproof method of eradicating any malware that may have been installed. This option should be used cautiously because it deletes everything from the phone, including apps, data, and settings. Launch your device’s Settings menu (this may require going to System first) and select Reset options; from there, select Erase all data (factory reset).
You can reinstall your apps and data from a recent backup after the factory reset, but this will only reinfect your phone if the malware was also saved in the backup. In that case, you’ll need to perform a second factory reset and reinstall your favorite apps individually without relying on the backup.
