Nearly 84 percent of the world’s population owns smartphones. While the presence of phones has made life very convenient, it has also made us susceptible to cyber attacks with malware and viruses. So here’s how to know if your Android phone or iPhone has a virus.
Nearly 84 percent of the world’s population owns smartphones, mainly the Apple iPhone and Android. While the presence of phones has made life very convenient, it has also left everyone susceptible to cyber attacks with malware and viruses. Smartphones can become susceptible to cyber attacks, even when performing simple tasks, such as opening a malicious email or downloading an insecure file. The virus takes root on your device in such a way that even if the virus is present on your phone, you may not know it until you run a scan. So here’s how to know if your iPhone or Android phone has been infected with a virus:
Android phones or iPhones that have been subjected to malicious attacks such as malware and viruses behave abnormally. They exhibit various signs ranging from declining battery life to apps crashing. So here are the signs you need to keep an eye on, according to Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor, CQUniversity Australia.
Apps take a long time to open or crash randomly, resulting in poor device performance.
2. The phone overheats by itself
Excessive battery discharge or poor battery life
Increased data usage causing unusual billed fees
5. Random pop-ups on the screen
If your device shows any of the above characters, your Android phone or iPhone may have been exposed to a virus. It is recommended to clean your device of malware immediately to prevent data theft or damage to your phone. Here are some steps you can take if your smartphone has been exposed to the virus.
Remove the virus immediately by scanning your smartphone with various antivirus software such as Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, McAfee or Norton.
For Android devices, clear the phone’s storage and cache. For iPhones, clear browser history and site data.
3. Restart your iPhone. If you have an Android device, restart and go into safe mode, which prevents third-party apps from working.
4. Remove suspicious apps from your Android or iPhone.
5. The last solution is to back up all your data and factory reset the smartphone. This resets the smartphone to its original factory settings and removes detected malware or viruses.