How to Remove Virus from Android Phone?

Computer viruses are malicious programs that infect and damage your files and programs, disturb your computer’s performance, and basically wreak havoc on your machine. Mobile malware is presently on the rise.

Android malware is available in several forms, ranging from spyware, which collects your personal data for third parties (mostly advertisers), to mobile ransomware, which holds your files hostage and then demands a ransom for you to regain them.

Scanning and removing viruses from Android phones is an easy process. First, you will just have to learn how to stop pop-up ads and malicious Android apps and also how to execute a complete phone virus scan.

Signs of a Virus Infected Android Phone

The following signs will confirm that your phone has been infected with a virus:

• Adware pop-ups

  Most pop-up ads are not malicious but just annoying. You can very easily block these ads by using an ad block browser extension. However, if you do get pop-up ads on your Android phone even after closing your browser, then these ads could be malicious pop-ups caused by malware attempting to steal your data.

• Excessive app crashing

  Apps are known to crash from time to time, but if your apps start crashing regularly for no genuine reason, then your phone could have a virus.

• Increased data usage

  If you come across a sudden increase in data usage, this could indicate that a virus is running background tasks on your device or attempting to use the Internet to transmit information from your phone.

• Phone bill gets higher

  There are a few malware strains that attack by sending premium rate SMS messages from your phone, thus making your phone bill become unexpectedly higher.

• Fake apps

  You may find strange apps on your phone that you have not downloaded. This is a common symptom of malware on Android phones and the best you can do is to immediately uninstall unfamiliar apps.

• Overheating

  Your phone could be experiencing a malware infection if it gets overheated. However, this aspect of overheating in certain cases is normal and relatively harmless.

• Battery drains very fast

  Malware attacks can consume a lot of energy and this eventually takes a toll on your Android battery. uninstall the malicious app.

Virus Removal from an Android Phone

If you notice any of the above-discussed signs and doubt that your Android phone could have a virus, employ any of the following methods to try to remove it.

• Run a phone virus scan

  Google Play has a number of antivirus apps that you can use for scanning and removing a virus from your phone. Given below are steps that will help you to download and run a virus scan:

  Step 1: Go to the Google Play Store and download and install a suitable app for Android

  Step 2: Open the app and tap on the Scan button

  Step 3: Wait for the app to scan and check your apps and files for any malicious software

  Step 4: Tap Resolve if a threat is found

  Step 5: Uninstall the malicious app

• Manually uninstall malicious apps

  Uninstall malicious apps manually by following the steps given below:

  Step 1: Go into Safe Mode

  Entering into Safe Mode on Android turns off access to all third-party apps to stop them from running. Safe Mode enables you to use your phone normally without any disturbance.

  Step 2: Identify the malicious app

  Open your Settings and select the “Manage apps” tab (or a similar variation). Go to the “Downloaded” tab and search for any apps that seem suspicious. Look for apps you don’t remember downloading or those that should not be running on your device.

  Step 3: Uninstall the malicious app

  You will mostly be able to select the malicious app and tap the “Uninstall” button. But if the virus feels like fighting back, you may notice a greyed out “Uninstall” button, meaning it has attained administrator access to your device.

  Step 4: Remove administrator access

  Return to your Settings and look for “Security”. Tap “Device Administrators” and check if any malicious apps have access. If so, click on the app and “Deactivate” it. You will now be able to uninstall the malicious app.

How Comodo Helps to Protect Android Devices

Comodo offers Antivirus for Android to defend the entry and interference of malicious apps and files. Comodo Mobile Security (CMS) has been specifically designed to protect your Android devices against unsafe apps, potentially risky settings, viruses, and even from theft. The Antivirus for Android solution from Comodo is an extraordinary Mobile Antivirus capable of protecting your privacy and keeping your system optimized.

Comodo’s Mobile Antivirus enables protecting the personal information of the user like videos, personal contacts, photos and much more. It offers a substantial rate of detection of malicious mobile threats. Additionally, CMS prevents the attack of ransomware, limits unauthorized calls, and blocks banking Trojans from accessing or stealing your android device data.

You can obtain one perfect way for mobile security by installing Comodo’s Antivirus for Android.

The Comodo Best Antivirus for Android offers the following features:

• Antivirus

  The “always on” virus protection and an on-demand scanner help keep your device clear of unsafe apps and viruses. Besides providing scheduled scans and one touch scans, this software also provides a system "Health Check" feature capable of quickly identifying unsafe apps, viruses, and potentially risky settings. CMS also safeguards you from harmful USSD attacks, malicious web pages, and annoying Push Ads hosted by applications that you download from different sources.

• Call/SMS Blocking

  Immediately filter out annoying phone calls and SMS messages by configuring black/white contact lists. On the other hand, block all text messages containing specific keywords.

• System Optimizer

  CMS provides you complete visibility and control over running processes. You will be able to see how much memory each uses, how many are running, and quickly close down the ones you don’t want. Software Manager will allow you to kill apps that could cause your phone to slow down. You will also be able to clean all the temporary files in cache memory with just a single tap and then instantly witness the improved performance of your phone.

• Privacy Advisor

  Privacy Advisor helps in identifying those apps on your phone whose permissions could allow them to cost you money in outgoing texts/calls or compromise your privacy. It will tell you which apps are permitted to access data such as your archived messages and contact lists and which apps can send text messages/make phone calls.

• Anti-theft

  Anti-theft is an essential element of Mobile Security. It helps in remotely recovering your phone if it is lost, mislaid or stolen. This feature also helps you to get the location of your device even if its SIM card is changed. It further allows you to take a photograph of the possessor, lock it to prevent unauthorized access, make the device sound a loud alarm, and remotely wipe it of all your personal data including files stored on your memory card.

• Task Scheduler

  This feature allows you to automate the antivirus scanning process. It also permits you to choose to run the scan on any day or all days at a preset time. Schedules can also be set for ‘Leave Flight Mode’ and ‘Enter Flight Mode’ on your device.

• Backup

  Backup is one significant feature that a Mobile Antivirus should possess. You no longer need to worry about data loss from your Android device. With CMS, you can back up vital data such as text messages, contact lists, and private space to a memory card. This backup feature is also available for your CMS configuration and all the apps in your device. Backed up data can be restored instantly in case of data loss in your phone.

• Software Manager

  Software Manager allows you to view the installed apps, uninstall them, or take a backup. With just a single tap, restore uninstalled apps back to your device. You will also be provided with a complete list of apps in your device and you can choose either to delete them or install them.

• Private Space

  Your Private Space is where you store phone numbers, contacts, and text messages that only you can view. Once added, only you will have the privilege to view those communications. Furthermore, App Protector allows you to lock your apps, preventing them from being accessed by unauthorized users.

• Traffic Monitoring

  This feature allows you to keep track of your mobile broadband usage in real-time. It helps you avoid overage charges for exceeding the data limits on your plan. You can also configure the application to set a daily traffic quota or provide alerts if your monthly traffic limit is approaching. You will also get to view comprehensive details of all GPRS/3G data traffic and a chart of data usage for each running application. Your data usage can be conserved by stopping or uninstalling data-expensive applications. Lastly, you will be able to use the Firewall from the traffic monitoring interface to block apps from connecting to the Internet.