If you believe your Android phone or tablet has a virus then the good news is it's really easy to delete. Here's how to remove a virus from Android. Plus, we show you how to avoid the Gunpoder virus and other Android malware.
If you believe your Android phone or tablet has a virus then the good news is it's really easy to delete. Here's how to remove a virus from Android. Plus, we show you how to avoid the Gunpoder virus and other Android malware.Also see: Best Android antivirus
First of all, it's worth pointing out that it's unlikely
that your Android phone or tablet has a virus. What you're more likely
to be seeing is an ad that wants to convince you Android is infected and
you need to download an app, or a dodgy pop-up, or perhaps your device
is just misbehaving. But viruses for Android do exist. If you're sure
your device has one, here's how to remove it.
How to avoid Android malware, including how to avoid Gunpoder virus
All Android viruses are delivered via apps installed on
your device, so if your phone or tablet doesn't already have a virus,
the best way to avoid it getting one is to never install software
outside of the Google Play app store.
This is also true of the Gunpoder virus,
which recently hit the headlines after Palo Alto Networks discovered it
could sneak on to your phone via Nintendo game emulators installed
outside Google Play - and even has the cheek to make you pay for the
priviledge. Fortunately, Gunpoder hasn't been seen to affect UK users as
of yet, but it's still worth taking measures to protect yourself from
the Gunpoder virus and other Android viruses that may be released in the
future.
To ensure you don't inadvertently install malware through
the installation of apps outside of Google Play, open your Settings
menu, look for the Security option, then ensure the option for Unknown
Sources (allow installation of apps from unknown sources) is disabled.
Also see:Security Advisor
If you're determined to install an app from outside Google
Play, do your research. Check its permissions (does a video player
really need to see your contacts?), look online for reviews and have a
good look at the developer's site to see what else it offers. In the
case of Gunpoder, be particularly wary of Nintendo game emulator apps.
You can also install an antivirus app, and plenty of free Android antivirus apps
are available that are able to detect and remove malicious apps, for
example 360 Mobile Security, Avast and Lookout. These all include an app
scanner that will seek out anything dodgy, but note that these apps can
also trigger false-positives - reporting an app you've been using for
months as malware when you know it's fine. In most cases you can simply
ignore these alerts. Also, again with Gunpoder in mind, these apps may
not pick up on malicious behaviour if the app is able to hide it from
them - Gunpoder uses the Airpush adware library to conceal that
behaviour.
If you believe you already have a virus on your Android
phone or tablet - perhaps one that is resisting your attempts to
uninstall the associated app or even let you bypass the lock screen - a factory reset
will remove it, returning your device to its out-of-the-box state. But
doing so also means you'll lose everything on your phone that's not
backed up. Instead, follow the below steps to remove a virus from
Android.
How to remove a virus from Android
Step 1. Put your phone or tablet into
Safe mode. This prevents any third-party apps running, including any
malware. On many devices you can press the power button to access the
power off options, then press and hold Power off to bring up an option
to restart in Safe mode. If this doesn't work for your device then you
should Google 'How to put [your model name] into Safe mode' and follow
the instructions. When in Safe mode you'll see 'Safe mode' at the bottom
left of the screen.
Step 2. Open your Settings menu and
choose Apps, then make sure you're viewing the Downloaded tab. If you
don't know the name of the virus you think has infected your Android
phone or tablet, go through the list and look for anything dodgy-looking
or that you know you haven't installed or shouldn't be running on your
device.
Step 3. Tap on the malicious app (clearly
it won't be called 'Dodgy Android virus', this is just an illustration)
to open the App info page, then click Uninstall. In most cases, this is
all you need to do to remove the virus, but occasionally you might find
the Uninstall button is greyed out. This is because the virus has given
itself Device administrator status.
Step 4. Exit the Apps menu and tap on
Settings, Security, Device Administrators. Here you'll find a list of
any apps on your phone or tablet with administrator status. Simply
untick the box for the app you want to remove, then tap Deactivate on
the next screen. You should now be able to return to the apps menu and
remove that app.
Step 5. With the virus now off your
Android phone or tablet, all you need to is restart the device to take
it out of Safe mode. Now that it's working correctly it's a good time to
back up whatever important data you have stored on the device, and
install an Android antivirus app to protect you from any future viruses
that come your way.
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