Not so long ago, cybersecurity experts branded users who installed antivirus on their mobile phones as “lunatics”, given the low indecency that this type of malicious software had on mobile phones. The movie has changed a lot today, and despite the fact that Android is a mostly secure environment, the ravages of viruses and malware take place every day on thousands of devices that have not taken adequate precautions.
Android’s retaining wall is Google Play. The official marketplace of Google’s operating system is not exempt from harboring malicious software. On many occasions we have seen how they have managed to circumvent Google filters and infect thousands of people. However, the risk is lower, if what we download is controlled within this environment. But, what happens when we suspect that we have malware or viruses on our phones?
Symptoms of a virus or malware infection
When we have installed an infected application, it is possible that the symptoms do not take long to appear. Depending on the severity of the infection, they may be more or less visible, or even totally invisible but wreak havoc in the background. If our mobile shows any of these symptoms, it is that we possibly have malicious software on the mobile.
- The mobile phone does strange things and is slow: this is due to the fact that the software that infects the terminal, makes use of system permissions and consumes a large part of its resources.
- Gets too hot – As part of the above, excessive use of resources may cause the system to overheat, which did not occur before
- The data bonus is spent very quickly : it can be due to the background interaction of the malware or virus, connecting to the network and downloading and sending a large amount of data to an unknown server
- Calls not made : we can find calls not made by us, the result of the management and control that the cybercriminal may have over the infected mobile phone, taking the opportunity to call his cousin in Afghanistan.
- It has crashed and there is nothing I can do: this is a serious problem, as the virus can completely crash the system without giving us room to react.
What we have to do
Turn off the mobile and restart it in safe mode
The first thing we have to do is turn off the mobile and restart it in safe mode. It is the best way to eliminate the process that is causing the problem. By restarting it in safe mode, we will be able to start the system only with the system processes and we will avoid the problems it causes. The way to indicate this mode is to hold down the power button and hold down the power off option until Safe Mode appears as an option.
Try to delete the suspicious app
Being in safe mode is a good opportunity to locate and delete the malicious app. It can be a recent game or an app like a special calculator, flashlight, or the like. In short, within safe mode we will have room to reflect and take a look, deleting suspicious apps.
Make a backup
If we have managed to contain the infection, we must make a backup copy of our data, since we must not trust ourselves because the infection can still be there. This means that the biggest problems may still appear, so time is running against us and making a backup copy as soon as possible should be one of the first options.
Install a professional antivirus and take a pass
Mobile phones from Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO and many others, integrate security tools with integrated antivirus. The first option will be to run through these solutions to try to detect and eliminate the infection. Later and for greater security, we will download a reputable antivirus and carry out another pass to completely clean the device.