Programs for removing viruses from your phone. How to remove a virus from an Android phone: A few simple steps

This information will allow you to keep your phone in working order even if it is infected with virus software. Also, timely removal of the virus will protect user files from infection.

Rice. No. 1. Viruses on Android

1. What is a virus in Android OS?

Over the past two years, viruses for the Android platform have been introduced into 80 percent of devices. Even special antivirus software cannot always detect a new type of malware.

Looking for an antivirus program for your smartphone? List and description of the best antiviruses

There are several types of viruses that users may encounter:

Trojan. This type of virus can distribute or collect information. Also, some Trojans have the ability to gain unauthorized access even to encrypted user data;
Viruses that spread advertising. Banners offering you products or services may appear at any time, even if there is no Internet connection;
Viruses that block the functionality of the operating system. This type of malware is the most dangerous. The virus restricts the user’s access to the device’s functions, requiring that operation be restored by sending a paid SMS message;
Third-party software that binds to the browser installed on the device. As a result, users will constantly be redirected to advertising pages.

Malicious software on Android can be easily removed from a tablet or smartphone. This can be done even by a user whose phone does not have root rights. All you need is to recognize the virus in time, determine its type and remove it.

Rice. No. 2. Viruses on mobile devices are by no means harmless

2. How to recognize and remove a Trojan using an antivirus?

The user may not even be aware that a Trojan or spyware is installed on his phone. As a rule, these types of software are installed on the device along with other programs that are downloaded from unofficial sources.

Symptoms of a device infection may include an excessively high mobile phone bill, abnormal Internet traffic consumption, installed third-party programs, slowdown and freezing of the device. The battery can also drain very quickly.

You can identify and remove a virus as follows:

Scan your phone memory with special antivirus software. The most popular antiviruses for Android are Dr. Web, CM Security, Mobile Security, Avast, 360 Security;

Rice. No. 3. Antiviruses on Google Play

Remember! You must download the antivirus only from the official Google Play store. Otherwise, you may end up with an additional Trojan on your phone.

Perform manual removal. Using the phone itself.

Let's take a closer look at how to scan a device using the example of the most popular antivirus in the app store - Dr. Web. To get started, download and install the utility on your device.

Then follow the instructions below:

Launch the application. Open the “Scanner” window;
Next, select “Full device scan”;
Wait for the process to complete;
If viruses are found, their number will be displayed next to the “Threats detected:...” field.
Open the window with the detected malware and remove each component separately by clicking on the additional options button (picture below).

Check for viruses regularly. 1-2 scans per week will be enough.

It is also recommended to check programs immediately after installing them. Using an antivirus, you can remove Trojans, banner viruses and software that binds to the browser and other applications on your phone or tablet.

You can read about other antivirus programs for devices on the Android platform in our article.

Here is a list of good antiviruses that we recommend for use:

Security Master - Antivirus, VPN, AppLock, Booster (in addition to the antivirus functions, this program also has a VPN and a device accelerator);

3. Several ways to remove a virus from a device manually

If you encounter a more serious type of malicious utility and cannot fix the problem using a regular antivirus, you must remove it manually. After removing the pest using an antivirus, do advertising banners still appear?

In this case, follow the following removal instructions:

Turn off wifi and data transfer over the mobile network on your phone;
Take out the SIM card;
Remove all previously installed programs;
Uninstall the browser and install it again. Use only the version of the application that is available in the Play Store;
Also format the connected memory cards;
Reboot your device.

To remove a ransomware virus that has blocked all actions, use the following instructions:

Turn off your smartphone;
Remove your mobile operator card from your device. Do this immediately after you discover the ransomware virus. Otherwise, a large amount of money may be debited from the account;
Do not remove the memory card from your phone; it may also be infected with a virus. To completely remove ransomware, you will have to clear all information, including installed programs and personal user data;
Reset your device to factory settings using the Volume Up, Power button, and Home button combination. Hold them down for 5-10 seconds until a window appears with the text as shown in the figure below.

Rice. No. 5. Text indicating that the reset has begun

Move the cursor down the list using the side volume keys. Stop the cursor at the Factory reset line, as shown in the figure below;

Rice. No. 6. The line "Factory reset"

Press the power key to begin the reset process.

Rice. No. 7. Reset process

Select the recovery option, which will delete all user data;

Rice. No. 8. Recovery options

The procedure can take from 3 to 20 minutes. After it is completed, the device will start on its own. You will be prompted to set up your device again (the normal settings process as after purchase).

Rice. No. 9. Suggestion to reconfigure the device

Read about removing viruses from different operating systems.

Thematic video:

Our gadgets are protected from malware by a special program from Google. But it has small loopholes and infections of phones with the Android operating system are rare, but they do happen. Viruses almost always enter the system along with low-quality applications. There are several types of malware. Each of them will have to be dealt with differently. In this article you will find the easiest ways to remove viruses from your phone.

How to remove adware from Android

This type of malware is the most harmless. His task is to sell a product, not to damage the system. There are several ways to solve this problem.

Most often, an ad virus gets into the phone along with games. If you don't want to delete an interesting application, just block annoying ads. To do this, turn on airplane mode on your phone. Access to the Internet will be blocked, and without access to the network, advertising will not appear.

Scan your phone with antivirus. The most popular is Dr. Web. You can download it from Google play. It will easily detect and neutralize any advertising virus.

How to remove Trajan virus from Android

There are many types of “Trajan”. Some send SMS to paid numbers, others steal passwords or bank card numbers. Most often, the virus disguises itself as another, completely harmless application. To remove it, follow the following algorithm:

download a high-quality antivirus program onto your device, for example, Lookout;
scan your phone;
remove all suspicious applications that the antivirus detects.

How to remove a virus banner from Android

This type of malware completely blocks the phone from working. The virus demands a large sum of money to remove the banner. But it won't be difficult to get rid of it:

get a SIM card as soon as possible before money is withdrawn from your balance;
charge the switched off phone to 100%;
turn on the device;
as quickly as possible, before the virus banner appears, go to the settings;
find “For Developers”;
enable “USB Debugging”;
select the debug field containing the malicious banner;
remove the infected application;
return your phone settings to factory settings.

Thus, it is easy to eliminate the virus from any Android device. To prevent the appearance of malware in the future, install only popular applications and periodically scan your gadget using an antivirus.

Recently, the question of how to remove a virus from an Android phone has become relevant for users.

This article provides examples of the most common malware and ways to quickly and safely neutralize them.

Each type of malware has its own characteristics and properties.

Let's look at the main types of pest programs that users encounter and effective ways to remove them.

Advice! Regularly scan your device for malware and spyware with programs like 360 Security. Dr. Web, Kaspersky, Lookout. They have the most extensive database of Android malware.

Trojan Removal

This type of malware is the most popular. You can find Trojans in almost any device, their number is so great.

It can encrypt its actions under the guise of another program and at the same time send paid SMS messages to third-party numbers in invisible mode.

The Trojan can also steal your credit card numbers and passwords recorded anywhere on the device: in SMS messages, notes, special programs for storing data.

To get rid of the Trojan, follow these steps:

Scan your device for spyware and malware, for example using Lookout, as shown in the figure.

Remove any suspicious programs found. These two simple steps are enough to neutralize and remove the Trojan from Android.

Removing adware

This type of malicious software is also very common, however, unlike a Trojan, it is not aimed at harming the device and extorting money, but at making money through advertising.

It is not necessary to uninstall the application that is causing the ads to appear.

Several ways to solve the problem:

Turn on Airplane mode. In this mode, the Internet and other types of connections are turned off, so advertising is not loaded or displayed. This solution to the problem is suitable for games and applications that do not require the Internet to work with.
To enable the mode, hold down the power button and in the window that appears, select the required type of action, as shown in the figure;

Removal by scanning. Scan your phone for threats; adware ones are almost always detected, so removing them will not be difficult.

Removing a malicious banner

This type of malicious software blocks all phone functions and extorts the user to pay money to disable the blocker banner.

This type of malware is often found on all phones.

Advice! If your phone or tablet has been infected with this type of malware, immediately take out your SIM cards before a large amount is withdrawn from your account.

An infected program can be easily eliminated in a few steps:

Turn off the device and fully charge it;
Turn on your device. All subsequent actions must be done as quickly as possible before the ransomware banner appears;
Go to settings (section for developers);

Enable USB debugging mode;

What is a mobile phone for us? This is an adviser, an assistant, a wallet, a personal secretary and a box with our secrets in one “face”. We trust him with our most intimate things. Sometimes he knows more about us than our closest friend. And it’s scary to imagine what can happen when someone else… a hacker wedges itself into the intimate space of a person and a device.

Let's figure out how to understand that an Android or iOS phone is hacked or infected with malware. How to find and remove a virus from your phone.

No, son, this is not fiction.

Perhaps all owners of smartphones and tablets have heard about the existence of mobile malware, but many, alas, do not believe in them. Like, Android is, and closed Apple is even more difficult for them. In fact, malware (we are not talking about classic viruses) can infect any platform. 95% of infections occur on Android. iOS is doing better in this regard, however, when malware that likes to “gnaw on apples” attacks, it is always unexpected (the owner thinks that the device is safe) and appears from where they were not expecting: from official content stores.

Signs of a mobile device being hacked and infected

The following symptoms will indicate that your phone or tablet has been subject to a virus or hacker attack:

The device itself enables communication functions - Wi-Fi, disabled SIM cards, GPS, etc.
Applications appear that cannot be removed. Or after removal they are restored.
Applications are downloaded and installed spontaneously.
The advertisement opens directly on the desktop and has no connection with any program. It can be “targeted”, that is, it matches your search queries and simply spoken words near the phone. As a rule, she is very aggressive and intrusive.
The history of calls and SMS contains outgoing calls to unknown numbers (paid numbers).
Certain device functions are blocked, applications stop launching, buttons can no longer be pressed, and menu items in the settings disappear. Error messages pop up. Security settings change spontaneously (USB debugging is enabled, installation of programs from unknown sources is allowed, etc.)

The antivirus program is blocked, constantly closed, or completely removed. The installation of antiviruses from the market is blocked.
The antivirus program informs you about the infection, but cannot cope with it.
The browser spontaneously opens web pages with dubious content (casinos, girls, etc.).
Money is debited from the phone balance. Paid subscriptions for services not associated with your mobile operator are activated.
The design of the work environment is changing.
The device is completely locked, and a message is displayed on the screen demanding that you pay a ransom to unlock it.
The battery drains significantly faster than usual. The gadget slows down, freezes and heats up even during sleep.
The storage is filled with something unknown, cleaning does not help or only helps for a short time.

It happens that the infection does not manifest itself in any way, and the user learns that it has occurred only after bank accounts are emptied or accounts are stolen.

How to tell if an app might be spying on you

Malicious programs most often end up on Android devices from third-party sources - Internet sites, an infected computer, etc., bypassing the Google Play market. On iOS, on the contrary, the main distribution channel is official content stores. Of course, all applications uploaded there are moderated, but there are no absolutely impenetrable filters.

Spyware and other malicious applications are often disguised as something safe and may even have useful functionality. However, their main task is to collect information about you, and for this they need special permissions, redundant for the needs of a normal program. For example, if a screenshot app asks for access to your camera, Wi-Fi, microphone, contacts, and calls, it's clearly going to take more than just screenshots.

Many normal applications collect information about the system and device, keep a log of their work and transmit this information to the developer, but the personal data of the device owner, with which they do not interact, is taboo for them.

How to remove a virus from your phone

These instructions will be more useful to owners of electronic “pets” on Android or jailbroken iPhones. On Apple mobile devices without superuser rights, it is usually enough to remove the suspicious program using the system.

The steps described below will help you not only find and destroy malware, but also minimize the damage it causes. The main part of the techniques is applicable only to Android, since it is susceptible to such misfortunes much more often.

Install an antivirus on your device and scan the memory (if it is already installed, update the database if possible). If he not only finds, but also neutralizes the infection, you can consider yourself lucky. In about half of the cases, the antivirus cannot cope with the malware, although it detects its name and location, and this makes it possible to remove it manually.

Attention! If your phone is infected, do not start it, but rather temporarily remove e-wallets and mobile banking from it.

Android viruses like to appoint themselves as device administrators - this gives them more authority and prevents them from being removed. This is also one of the reasons that the antivirus cannot cope with the infection, so your task is to deprive it of administrative status.

Open the gadget settings, go to the " Personal data" And " Safety" Open the subsection " Device Administrators"and uncheck the boxes next to what the antivirus complains about, or all programs unknown to you. Next, run a rescan or remove the malware manually by finding it in the “ Applications».

If malware has blocked some of the phone's functions, for example, disabled the ability to access settings, try removing it through safe mode. In Android safe mode, only system applications work, and the virus will not be able to prevent its removal.

Entering Safe Mode works differently on different devices. On phones running Android 4.1 and above, press the Power button. When the action selection window appears, touch and hold your finger on “ Turn off power" until you see the sentence " Go to Safe Mode" If you have an older version of Android or the function is blocked, in order to boot the previously turned off device into safe mode, you should hold down the volume rocker on the down side along with the power button. This combination is used most often, but there are devices on which you need to press other buttons.

Malware with the ability to block system functions sometimes designate themselves as debugging applications.

To remove an uninvited guest from the list of debuggers, open the section “ For developers" On many firmware it is hidden by default. To access it, go to the tab " About the phone" or " About the tablet", find the item " Build number” and start quickly touching it with your finger until a notification appears that you have become a developer. In the developers section, find the item " Debugging Applications"(on your firmware it may be called a little differently) and remove everything unknown from the list of debuggers.

If malware prevents you from installing an antivirus on your device or interferes with its operation, you can scan your phone with an antivirus program on your computer.

To scan your device for viruses via a computer, enable in the “ For developers» mobile device debuggingUSB and connect it with a cable to the PC HowUSB flash drive.

After removing the virus, be sure to change the passwords of all online accounts that you used on your phone!

If the malware is not removed

Some mobile viruses are extremely difficult to remove. Or they don’t respond at all, for example, when they are deeply embedded in the system. This happens as a result of infection of a rooted or jailbroken device, when the malicious program gains unhindered access to almost all objects and data. It also happens that a virus (usually a spyware or adware type) gets onto the device along with the firmware, not only the custom (unofficial) one installed by the user himself, but also the factory one.

To combat especially tenacious malware, two methods are used - rolling back the system to factory settings, deleting user data, and flashing the firmware.

On phones and tablets where superuser rights have been obtained, restoring to factory settings is usually ineffective.

On Android, a factory reset is performed from the " Settings" and section " Reset and recovery" The option is called " Reset to factory settings"or something similar. Before doing this, do not forget to save all valuable data from the phone’s memory to another medium, since they will be deleted during the reset.

If a virus has blocked booting or disabled the reset function, you can restore your Android device to factory settings through the Recovery menu. For this:

Turn off the device by pressing the button.
Turn it on again while holding the button combination for hard reset. On some devices these are the power and volume up buttons, on others - power and volume down, on others you need to press the “Home” button together with them, on others there is a special recessed “Reset” button, etc. What exactly should you press? can be found in the instructions for the device.
Once in Recovery, select the option " wipedata/factoryreset».

On iOS, the reset function is located in the " Basic" A softer option is “ Reset all settings" It helps restore the system when the virus has already been removed, since it returns only the settings to the original settings without affecting the content. Hard option - " Erase settings and content» deletes user applications and files, and also discards all changes.

If there is no effect from a hard reset, the last resort is to flash the device, which is equivalent to reinstalling the operating system on the computer. Alternatives to factory firmware for many common Android devices can easily be found on specialized forums along with installation software and instructions, but if you do not want to take risks (if flashing is unsuccessful, the phone may pretend to be a “brick”), it is better to contact the service department.

How to reduce the likelihood of your mobile being infected and hacked

Install software from official application stores. Scan executable files downloaded from unknown sources with an antivirus before running.
If you have superuser rights on your device, be sure to install an antivirus program.
If your phone functions as a wallet, do not give it to strangers, and if children use it, install it.
Update your gadget's operating system as updates are released. Many malicious programs stop working on new firmware versions.

And remember that your safety is in your hands.

Also on the site:

Beware: hacking! How to understand that your phone is hacked or infected, how to find and remove a virus updated: August 20, 2018 by: Johnny Mnemonic

Often, when a virus is detected on their favorite gadget, users are perplexed as to how the malware managed to penetrate the device? Then even more unpleasant questions arise: “What to do now?” In fact, to find an infected tablet or smartphone, you still need to try. This state of affairs is greatly facilitated by the fairly high-quality built-in protection of the operating system from Google. But what should a user do if he encounters a virus on his device? First of all, you should not despair, and we will give advice on overcoming this harmful scourge in this article.

First, let's find out where you can pick up a virus, which, in fact, it would be more correct to call a malicious application, since simply following a link on the Internet, it is impossible to harm your smartphone. Currently, the infection can penetrate a gadget only if an infected application is installed. At the same time, the functionality of the application is usually preserved - it honestly performs everything that is required of it, but along with it, malicious code enters the system, the purpose of which is to steal confidential information, destroy other programs or clog the system.

The right attitude

First of all, you should calm down, since many users are unreasonably lost in a generally not so tragic situation. Unpleasant thoughts arise because many have heard about the capabilities of malicious software. Of course, these programs are quite cunning, but if you maintain composure, correctly assess the situation and choose the right sequence of actions, the enemy will not have the slightest chance of winning.

Find and destroy

The main goal of the owner of a smartphone or tablet when there is a suspicion that an Android device has been infected with a virus is to detect and remove malicious code from the system. It can manifest itself in different ways: unreasonably high consumption of RAM or clogging of the built-in drive with something unknown, unknown running processes, publishing third-party posts on Facebook on your behalf, etc. All this indicates that not everything is so smooth on the gadget. First of all, you should pay attention to recently installed applications, especially unpopular ones, about which it is difficult to find a sufficient amount of information or reviews from other users. If something like this has been installed, you should get rid of such applications first.
It is best to turn off your smartphone or tablet when identifying oddities and launch Google Play on your PC, where you can calmly analyze the most famous ones and consult with people knowledgeable about this issue. Then you should start the device and install it on it, with which you can completely scan all the memory. Such programs detect malicious code with a probability of more than 99%.

Data protection

To ensure that your personal data does not get to unauthorized persons, you should try to change the passwords for the services you use: Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte, etc. Most often, viruses are aimed specifically at making a profit by stealing and then using personal passwords and data.

Reset

If the antivirus failed to detect the danger, you can run