Unsure if Your iPhone, Android Are Sneakily Attacked by Malware? 4 Ways to Remove Virus in Your Device

Hackers are getting sneakier and sneakier with how they can attack your iPhone or Android smartphones. As technology advances, so are the methods to compromise your devices.

Find out if your device is being hacked and how you can remove the virus from your device.

Is My Phone Being Attacked by Malware?

According to TechRadar, cybercriminals have doubled down on their efforts to steal sensitive data and financial information from smartphones and tablets.

The greatest threat to mobile users? Hidden applications. But of course, they've also diversified to include billing and banking fraud techniques.

A lot of the attacks use pandemic-related themes to have victims click on the malicious links or download files or apps that provide attackers with access to your device. From there, they can steal information off of the device and even control it.

Watch out for pop-up ads and fake links to vaccine registration apps that demand access to SMS messages.

When downloading any apps, do so in the official iOS App Store or Google Play Store. But keep in mind that some fraudulent applications have been distributed through these stores so make sure you double-check on the app developer's information and credentials.

You can tell if your device is hacked when your contacts receive messages from you that you didn't send or if you have apps on your phone that you don't recognize.

If you're also experiencing a huge drain in your data and wi-fi usage, this could be the hacker extracting data from your device and in doing so, using up wi-fi or cellular data. In the same vein, if your battery is draining unusually fast, this could also mean malware could be in your phone causing the problems.

Read Also: Afraid Your Samsung Galaxy Phone Has Been Hacked? Check For Warning Signs, Perform Fixes

4 Ways to Remove Virus in Your Android

4. Uninstalling apps in Safe mode

AVG suggests uninstalling in Safe mode as your phone will not run any third-party apps, and so you can safely uninstall any suspicious or problematic app.

First, have your device enter Safe mode by turning it completely off, then power the phone back on. When the Samsung logo appears, press and hold down the Volume Down key.

Safe Mode should display on the bottom left corner of the screen. If it does not appear, repeat the steps.

Open settings then tap Apps. Go ahead and check the list for the apps with black or random letters for the name you don't recognize or apps that you have identified as problematic. Uninstall those apps.

If you have a problem uninstalling an app, remove administrator access by going back to Settings > Security > Device Administrators and check to see if any of the malicious apps have access. If there are, deactivate it and go ahead and uninstall the app.

To exit Safe mode, just restart your phone like normal and it will reboot normally.

3. Clear your cache and download

Some malware can hide in your browser and show up as pop-up ads. So clear out the malware by going to Settings > Apps > Chrome. Then select Storage & cache > Clear cache. Go ahead and tap Clear storage then Clear all data and then confirm your choice.

2. Wipe your Android

If your phone still hasn't returned to normal, you can pull the plug. AVG suggests performing a factory data reset to remove all installed apps from the phone. This will include all your data as well so you should back those up separately.

If you backup your entire phone, apps included, especially from a backup file after the malware was installed, you might bring in the suspicious apps back when you restore your phone.

Go to Settings > Backup and reset. Select Factory data reset, tap on Reset Device. Enter in your lock screen security credentials when asked and then tap on Continue.

1. Protect your Android

Many Galaxy smartphones include anti-malware protection, but you need to turn it on to take advantage of it. Open Settings > Batter and device care (or Device care) > Device protection (or Security) > Turn on.Some phones may have an additional prompt so just complete those and tap Turn on.

You can also install a third-party virus scanner and removal tool like AVG AntiVirus for Android.

When you open the app, you can run a scan and then follow the prompts to resolve any threats. AVG will also uninstall the malicious apps for you so you now have a more protected device.

Read Also: Afraid Your iPhone Passwords Are Leaked? Check Now Which Passwords Are Compromised!

4 Ways to Remove Virus in Your iPhone

4. Clear history and data

Similar to clearing the cache in Android devices, clearing history and data can remove any malware infections like adware.

Just go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.

3. Restore from an earlier backup

Make sure your most recent backup is malware-free before performing a backup restore. You can try going through earlier backups until you find one that is malware-free.

When restoring from an iCloud backup, got to Settings > general > Software Update. Install the update if there is one. Make sure you have a recent backup to restore from, Apple said.

Head over to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups.Tap the device listed under backups to see the date and size of its latest backup.

Go back to Settings > General > Reset then select Erase All Content and Settings. On the Apps & Data screen, tap Restore from iCloud Backup and sign in with your Apple ID.

Proceed to "Choose backup" and choose from the list of available backups.

2. Restore as a new device

This is the last resort but starting on a factory reset phone can save your information and device from more compromise.

Open Settings > General > Reset. Select Erase All Content and Settings and your phone is now as fresh as it can get as the day you took it out of the box.

1. Protect Your iPhone

AVG does not recommend jailbreaking your iPhone as doing so will leave your device vulnerable to attackers. You can also install the AVG Mobile Security for iPhone and iPad to keep your Wi-Fi and data secured.