Have you noticed that your Android phone or table is running a little different than usual? Does it seem to be running slower? If so, it could be that your device is infected with a virus. Catching a virus on an Android device is more likely than on other devices. The following is some tips to help you remove a virus from your Android device.
Just because it is possible to catch viruses on an Android device does not mean they are real common. Also, just because you see ads popping up on your display does not mean that you have a virus either. But, buying one of these advertised apps could result in you getting a virus. Therefore, it is best practice to only buy apps from the Google Play store. Apps on there go through a more controlled acceptance phase. If you do want to purchase an app outside of the Google Play Store then it is wise to do some investigating first.
There are antivirus apps available on Google Play. Many of these are free and will remove malicious programs from your device. On the other hand, some will report a virus when the device is actually fine.
Alternatively, you can perform a factory reset on your device if you think it is infected with a virus. The downside, however is that you will lose everything on your phone.
But, there is a method for removing viruses from your phone that is less intrusive and will not be as problematic.
First, you will want to turn safe mode on your Android device. In order to do this you can access the power off options by pressing the power button then hold the power off button. Doing this combination will give you the option to reboot the phone in safe mode. If this does not work on your version of Android, you can look up in Google how to do it on yours. Booting the phone in safe mode is similar to booting a PC in safe mode. It will prevent any viruses from running in the background.
Once you have the device in safe mode, you will want to search for the infected app. You can do this in the Apps area under settings. Look in the Download tab and look for the suspicious app. If you do not know the name of the app, look for anything that doesn’t look right.
Once you have located the app, you can uninstall it by clicking on it and choosing to uninstall. However, if the name is grayed out then it means the app has administrative privileges and you will need to do more. You can remove the administrator status by going to Settings and Security then Device Administrators. You can uncheck the app and then choose to deactivate. Then you can choose to uninstall the app.
Once the app is removed, you will need to restart the device to completely remove the malware.