Cybersecurity: How to remove viruses from your iPhone or Android phone

*Experts offer helpful tips on how malware ends up on your phone, what it does, how to remove it, and how to avoid it in the future

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Whether cybercriminals are stealing your data, using your phone to mine cryptocurrencies, or siphoning money out of your bank account, smartphone viruses can be a nightmare, according to experts.

That is the core reason why you need to discover and remove malware on both iOS and Android phones.

The word “virus” technically has been described as ‘a specific kind of malware that spreads through infected files.’

However, most people use “virus” to mean malware in general, so we will use the terms interchangeably.

In getting a complete picture of how malware ends up on your phone, what it does, how to remove it, and how to avoid it in the future, cybernews.com recommends that you need to look at how to find whether your phone is infected with malware.

The publication noted that the easiest way to remove malware is using a quality antivirus.

How do you know if your phone has a virus?

Before taking any drastic measures to rid yourself of malware, you should verify that your phone issues are, in fact, caused by viruses.

Viruses can be tricky to find because their symptoms are similar to the symptoms of other phone issues.

In general, if you have multiple issues that you can’t easily explain, you might have malware.

1. Overheating or battery drain

Some kinds of malware mine Bitcoin, click on ads, or perform other nefarious tasks in the background that cause your phone to heat up.

Aside from worse performance and battery life (covered in the next section), this processor-intensive malware can make your phone hot.

Not all phone overheating is malware-related, but this is a fairly common symptom that you shouldn’t ignore.

Similarly, malware such as cryptocurrency miners and worms can drain your phone’s battery.

However, it is noted that most battery drain issues are not caused by malware. Check Settings > Battery > Battery Health on iOS or an app like AccuBattery on Android to see if your battery has degraded.

Over time, batteries start to hold less charge. This isn’t something you can reverse; it’s just how batteries work.

If your battery is quickly being drained, check which apps are using your battery, then make sure the battery hasn’t degraded.

If there is no good explanation for why your battery is draining so fast, you might have malware.

2. Unexpected ads, redirects, or pop-ups

Malware generally exists to make money for its maker. Sometimes, this means inundating you with ads.

If sites or apps that are normally ad-free or ad-light suddenly become filled with ads, pop-ups, and redirects to sketchy sites, here are some possibilities:

1. The service has changed ownership or been compromised.
2. Your network is injecting ads into insecure (HTTP) connections.
3. Your phone has viruses or malware.

Although this particular symptom is somewhat rare on iOS, it used to be quite common on Android.

Most of the time—especially when a trusted app is covered by an ad—the issue is caused by malware.

3. Unwanted, suspicious new apps

Finding apps you don’t remember installing is a huge red flag. Before you start worrying about malware, check to make sure that you’re not signed into a shared iCloud or Google account.

Both iOS and Android have features that can sync apps across devices, so it is possible that you share an account with someone else and they installed the app.

To check whether you’re using Family Sharing on iPhone, go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing.

On Android, go to Google Play > Account > Family.

If this isn’t the case, malware is a likely explanation for the unwanted apps appearing on their own.

4. Extreme data usage

Unlike legitimate apps, phone malware doesn’t care about your data plan. If an app you hardly use eats up tons of data—or worse, you get a huge phone bill from data usage but can’t find the culprit—you might have a virus.

Tips on protecting your phone from viruses

Phone malware is just like your physical health: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Protecting yourself against malware is not too difficult for most people who aren’t high-value targets, but it takes some forethought:

1. Consider installing a strong antivirus like TotalAV on your phone.
2. Don’t install apps from third-party app stores.
3. Don’t jailbreak or root your phone.
4. Keep your phone updated. If you no longer receive timely software updates, purchase a new phone.
5. Be careful and exercise caution when installing apps, browsing the web, and following instructions.

   Kindly Share This Story