What to do if you suspect that your smartphone has a virus or malware?

Do you suspect that your smartphone has a virus or malware and you don’t know what to do, then keep reading because we have all the answers. Not so long ago, cybersecurity experts branded users who installed antivirus software on their smartphones as lunatics because of the low level of effect that this type of malicious software had on smartphones.

Android‘s firewall is Google Play. The official app store of the tech giant is not exempt from harboring malicious software. On many occasions, we have seen how they have managed to circumvent Google’s 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 smartphones?

What to do if you suspect that your smartphone has a virus or malware?

Indications of a virus or malware

When we install an application, if we observe one of the following situations, there’s a chance that there’s malware or virus on our smartphone:

• The smartphone does strange things: This is because the software that infects the smartphone makes use of system permissions and consumes a large part of its resources.
• The device gets too hot: As part of the above, it is possible that the excessive use of resources may cause overheating in the system.
• Data usage is too high: This may be due to malware or viruses interacting in the background, connecting to the internet, and downloading and sending a large amount of data to an unknown server.
• Can’t make calls: We may find some calls not made by us or we might not be able to make any calls. This is a serious problem that might be caused by a virus.
• The system is completely blocked: This is a serious problem since the virus can block the system completely without giving us room to react.

Turn off the phone and restart it in safe mode

The first thing we have to do is to turn off the mobile phone and restart it in safe mode. This 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 avoid the problems. The way to enter 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 inside safe mode is a good opportunity to find and delete the malicious app. It can be a recent game or an app such as a special calculator, flashlight, or similar. In short, inside the safe mode, we will have room to reflect and take a look.

Make a backup copy

We must create a backup of our data, because the virus may still be there. This means that the biggest problems may be yet to appear, so time is against us and making a backup as soon as possible should be one of the first things to do.

Install a professional anti-virus app

Smartphones from Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO, and many others, integrate security tools with integrated antivirus solutions. But if you want your smartphone to be really secure, you might wanna try installing a professional app.