How to Detect and Remove Viruses From Your Phone

As the number of users with smartphones grows, cybercriminals have an increased appetite for sneaking their viruses and malware onto your device. If your phone is infected and not working properly, you should remove the virus immediately. We'll show you how to do this to avoid having to reset your entire device and losing all the information you have on it.

Delete The Infected App

You've probably downloaded a malicious application or game, even though the Play Store security controls are becoming more and more extensive. If you suspect that this is the reason your Android phone is no longer working properly, simply delete any applications in question. If you're still in doubt, check the list of recently installed applications and make sure they're all reliable.

Install an Antivirus

Don't panic, Android devices don't usually need to have an antivirus. However, if you are going to browse suspicious websites or simply install applications from unofficial sites, prevention is better than cure. Select and click on one of the 5 recommended anti-viruses below to download it from the Play Store for free and install it on your phone:

Avast Mobile Security

Click here to download Avast Mobile Security.

McAfee

Click here to download McAfee.

F-Secure

Click here to download F-Secure.

Kaspersky Lab Mobile

Click here to download Kapersky Lab Mobile.

Norton Mobile Security

Click here to download Norton Mobile Security.

Partial Restore

On the Android system, you have the option to restore your phone without losing data. How to do this? Go to Settings and look for the option Restore or Reset Settings. The location of this option changes depending on your phone and customisation levels, so be patient until you find it. Remember that this procedure will restore your phone to its factory default applications and user data.

Using ‘Safe Mode’

This feature allows you to remove viruses on Android by accessing a secure environment to delete problematic applications. First of all, there are several ways to start your phone in Safe mode, depending on the device you are using. The most common way, is to press and hold the Power button for several seconds, then once you see the start-up screen press and hold the volume down button. Your device will then tell you that it is going to start in 'Safe mode', so press Ok and wait for it to start.

Once your phone is in Safe Mode, you will need to uninstall any applications that you think are causing problems. If you’re not sure which application is causing the problem then delete any suspicious apps, reboot your phone and see if it works correctly. If it does, congratulations - you've removed the infected application. If not, you'll have to try again by uninstalling a different app.