Modern mobile phones (smartphones) are infected with viruses in the same way as computers. A virus can get into the phone along with information taken from the Internet, via Bluetooth, SMS and MMS messages. As a rule, the phone is blocked, practically out of order. In this case, the virus must be urgently removed by yourself or contact a specialist.
Instructions
Step 1
It is possible to determine the presence of a virus in a phone or tablet by many signs: there are irregularities in the operation of the operating system, programs are blocked or they start to work poorly, unknown pictures, banners may appear on the main screen. In the history of calls and messages, there may appear those that were not made from this phone. By themselves, programs, a camera, and mobile applications will start to turn on.
Funds will start to disappear on a mobile wallet or personal accounts, and the owner of the device will lose access to them. If you used a social media account from this phone, you may also lose access to them, or find malicious or bullying messages that you did not write. Applications may not start, buttons may not be pressed, and an error message will appear when programs are launched. Your device's battery will begin to drain faster than usual. The virus is even capable of removing antivirus software. In this case, you should install another, more effective one.
In some cases, you are prompted to send a paid SMS to unlock your phone. But even sending a message does not guarantee that the device will be safe again. Better to spend time and effort removing the virus.
Step 2
Install antivirus and scan your phone. To remove viruses, you need to find and download an antivirus for your android phone. There are several such antiviruses, some can be downloaded for free. After installing the anti-virus, go to the "anti-virus scanner" section and click on the "scan" button. The Anti-Virus will start the scan process, during which, upon detecting viruses, it will offer to remove them.
When removing a virus using an antivirus program, you must go through repeated checks following the program's recommendations. If after restoring the settings some files and programs disappeared, it means that they were infected and the program deleted them.
Step 3
Factory reset. You can get rid of viruses by resetting all user data from the internal memory. All other information will be lost as well, so before performing this process, you need to make backups and store important information elsewhere. If this method is selected, you need to go to the phone settings and find the "Restore and reset" section there, which in some devices may be called "Backup and reset" or other options depending on the manufacturer. From this section there is an exit to the "Reset data" or "Reset settings" section.
After clicking on this button, a warning about deletion will appear. Next, you should click on the "Reset settings" button, which is usually located at the bottom of the screen. After resetting the settings, the device will reboot and the settings will need to be installed again. This procedure removes all viruses from the phone. You will have to work with the installation of new settings, but the phone will be guaranteed to be cleaned.
Step 4
Removal of the virus through the computer. The method is effective and simple enough. To activate it, just connect your phone to your computer in storage mode. Then open your antivirus and start scanning individual files and folders on your phone or tablet. Wait until the end of the scan process, and then delete all files infected with the virus. For such a procedure, you can use almost any anti-virus program installed on your computer.
Step 5
To remove the ransomware virus without paying, just hold down the Recovery button on your phone for 10 seconds. Typically "Recovery" is a combination of the volume and power buttons on the phone. How exactly to perform this action on your phone, you should search the Internet yourself, indicating the model and "buttons for recovery" about the search. After entering the recovery mode, in the menu that opens, find the wipe data / factory reset item, and use the OK button to force the phone to reboot. Before carrying out the procedure, it is recommended to remove the USB flash drive and external memory from the phone. You need to scan it with an antivirus on the computer, and after the restoration of the phone is completed, put it back. This is done due to the fact that viruses from a flash drive can migrate to the main memory of the phone.
Step 6
Re-flashing. It is used in the most extreme cases, for example, when a spyware virus has existed on the device since its release, and is embedded directly into the phone's firmware. Each model has its own individual firmware version, which includes instructions for installing them. To perform this operation, you will need several special devices, possession of certain knowledge, and, quite possibly, you will have to contact a specialist for this. But if there is no other way out and the usual methods do not help, then you will have to resort to this method.
Step 7
Prevention of virus infection. When you get rid of the misfortune or buy a new phone, you need to immediately download and install a proven antivirus for your smartphone. If this is not done, then after a while the signs of infection may appear on the phone again. To avoid this, you just need to use proven programs, do not allow strangers to open unverified programs and files on your phone, be sure to update mobile devices as system updates are released. Also, be careful when clicking on links, even if they were sent by friends - after all, their phone or account could have been hacked and made a malicious mailing.
