Browsing the Internet from our smartphone can give us a false sense of security: entering any website without paying attention, opening an email without taking due precautions, etc. However, the risks are the same as when we use the computer. In this post we are going to review what viruses affect mobile phones and what to do to get rid of them, in addition to remembering the basic safety measures to avoid them.
It is often said that to fight an enemy, the first thing you have to do is know him well. In this case, our enemy is malware. Knowing how it can enter our phones and the damage it can cause is the first step to combat it.
How to know if your phone has a virus?
There are a number of señales that warn us that something is not working well on our mobile phone and that it could be due to the presence of an intruder. In many cases the symptoms are obvious, and usually quite annoying. On the other hand, sometimes these are more subtle signs, so you have to be good observers to detect them in time and thus remedy them.
What are these signs? They can be of different types, but the most common are the following:
- Apps that crash for no apparent reason.
- Battery draining too quickly.
- Excessive data consumption.
- Expensive telephone bills, with charges that we have not made.
- Frequent spam messages.
- Presence of applications that we do not remember having installed.
- Mobile phone overheating.
- Pop-up windows that appear without explanation while browsing the internet.
If we detect one or more of these anomalies in the operation of our mobile phone, there is a good chance that it is infected by a virus.
What do viruses do on mobile phones?
These signals reveal to us a series of things that are happening inside our devices without us knowing. Some things are just annoying, but others can be much more serious problems.
Strange calls and messages to your contacts
Some viruses They take over the contact list of mobile phones and begin to use them to infect other devices. Many times it is our friends and acquaintances who, surprised by a message or a call made from our mobile phone, inform us of the situation.
Phone lock
Without a doubt, one of the most critical situations that we can encounter when malware has been installed on our phone: the total blocking of its functions. That doesn't mean that The virus has not only taken possession of our device, but is also preventing us from accessing it. A serious case, especially because we lose access to our online banking apps or email.
Application failure
Many times we believe that it is due to lack of updating, and this is almost always the case, but Applications also start to fail when we have a virus installed on our phone. Some cannot be started, others close abruptly for no reason...
Intrusive advertising
One of the least harmful effects of the presence of a virus on our mobile phone, although also one of the most annoying: unwanted advertising, pop-ups and constant ads which make it impossible to navigate normally.
GPS activation
An unmistakable sign that a virus has entered our phone is the activation of GPS without our permission. A mechanism that is set in motion to monitor our movements.
The battery runs out sooner
The viruses that have sneaked into our device work tirelessly, installing new applications, using up storage space and consuming resources... All of this results in feverish activity that causes the battery to drain more quickly than usual.
The viruses that most affect mobile phones
The time has come to unmask the enemy: these are the main threats that the different types of viruses represent to our mobile phones. You shouldn't take them as a joke:
Phishing
Many of the viruses that try to infect our phones do so with the intention of obtain our personal data and impersonate our identity. From there, they can empty our checking account or commit other misdeeds. A crime known as phishing.
These viruses manage to enter our devices by different means: inviting us to enter a suspicious website, to click on a link or download a file contained in an SMS or email message, or by scanning a fraudulent QR code.
Botnets
Botnets are often used to send mass spam, which, although annoying, is not dangerous. However, they can also be used to launch massive attacks on devices that are connected to the same WiFi network. This is the reason why we must be very cautious when connecting to open networks.
spyware
No one is completely safe from these viruses. Some use the same entry routes as classic Trojan viruses, but others find more sibylline ways to sneak into our phones, such as through hidden downloads in the background when we access a website.
Spyware installs itself in the internal files of our mobile phone, accessing all our files and personal data. The most harmless ones are limited to pass our data to companies as a source of information for their advertising campaigns, but the most harmful ones can use them to rob us or blackmail us. Fortunately, there are programs antispyware very effective that can help us prevent these situations.
Trojans
They are a very common type of virus that uses fairly predictable channels to enter our devices, such as email messages with untrustworthy files or links. Its function is precisely that: to find a crack to sneak through and thus leaving an open path for the entry of other, more harmful malware.
Ransomware
The target of ransomware viruses is usually profiles of large companies or prominent public figures, from whom sensitive data is stolen and then asked for a large ransom. Despite this, no one is safe from these types of attacks.
Adware
Adware viruses are quite harmless, but extremely annoying. What they do is penetrate mobile phones to embed advertising of all kinds in an unauthorized manner. The objective is to make money fraudulently, although not at the expense of the owner of the mobile phone.
Pegasus
One of the most famous viruses of recent times, at least in Spain, after it was detected on the mobile phones of some members of the Government.
Pegasus a very sophisticated spy program created by the Israeli company NSO Group. When installed on a mobile phone, it accesses all its information, from calls and messages, to downloaded documents, contacts or even GPS location. also can activate the microphone, camera or recorder without the user noticing.
Joker
This malicious software has been lurking on mobile phones around the world since 2017. The Joker virus is truly elusive and versatile. It may be hidden in a perfectly clean and legal-looking application that we will download to our smartphone with complete peace of mind.
What danger does it represent for us? For example, you can try to earn money by discreetly activating a series of premium subscriptions on your victims' mobile phones, or analyze their security SMS sent by banks to try to access our accounts.
BRATA
This is a Trojan detected for the first time in 2021 that only affects Android devices. Just like the Joker virus does, BRATA It also hides in apparently trustworthy apps and tries to sneak into phones through an update. Once inside, scan the screenshots and SMS to gain access to the user's bank accounts. Very dangerous.
How to remove a virus from my phone?
No mobile phone, whether iPhone or Android, is ever one hundred percent safe from a virus attack. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion that an attack has occurred, action must be taken. Usually a simple cleaning This is usually enough to delete the virus, although not to remedy any damage it may have caused, such as theft of passwords and information. These are some of the things we can do:
- Clear cache and downloads in the browser.
- Reboot phone in safe mode.
- Check iOS and Android updates, as appropriate.
- Rreview all applications one by one, uninstalling those that may be suspicious or those that we believe we have not installed ourselves.
- As a last resort, reset our phone to factory settings.
Tips to prevent viruses from entering a mobile phone
It is already known that it is always better to be safe than sorry. Get ahead of threats before they become reality. Much of the danger can be avoided simply by taking some precautions that we all know, but often forget:
- Keep the operating system updated at all times.
- Download only reliable apps from trusted stores, such as the Google Play Store or Apple Store.
- Check app permissions before installing them.
- Be wary of links or attachments that reach us via SMS or from unknown emails.
- Make backup copies of our files regularly.