Dealing with Cell Phone Malware

It bears reminding that our cell phones are essentially portable computers, complete with processors, memory, data storage, and operating systems. As such, they are just as susceptible to viruses and malware as their desktop and laptop siblings, and those viruses can be just as difficult to deal with, if not more so. This month, we’ll look at some telltale signs of cell phone malware activity, and what you can do to put a stop to it.

How do phones become infected?

The most common vector for infection is your phone’s branded app store – either Google Apps on Androids or the Apple Store on iPhones. Even though new apps go through a vetting process before they can be listed for purchase or download, it’s still quite common for malware disguised as legitimate apps to make it through and rack up thousands of downloads before they’re caught and removed. This is usually more true on Androids because of its open source environment, but iPhones are in no way immune. Cell phones are also vulnerable to the same mechanisms as standard computers; downloading unknown software or email attachments, or clicking malicious links can lead to malware infecting your phone.

What are some signs of infection?

The most common signs that you have a virus on your phone are as follows:

• Constant flood of notifications

• Persistent pop ups or ads that won’t go away

• Programs that you don’t recognize or that won’t stay closed

• Calls dropping constantly

• Music or videos playing from unknown sources

• Mysterious battery drainage

• Phone is hot to the touch even while not being used

How can I rid my phone of infection?

The easiest solution is to download a virus scanning app and have it do its thing. However, when searching for a good virus scanner, it’s best to avoid free apps, apps with low download counts or bad reviews, and apps from unfamiliar companies. As tempting as it can be to just go with the cheapest option, in this scenario I’d highly recommend shelling out a few bucks if needed to make sure you find a virus scanner that’s reliable and safe. I personally use AVG, but Avast, Norton360, and Bitdefender are also good options.

Another simple solution is to reset your phone back to factory settings. This is essentially the nuclear option; all your downloaded apps and data will be wiped out, including (hopefully) the malware infecting your phone. Obviously, this would mean you’d have to start from scratch and redownload anything you want to use, but it’s still an effective solution to the problem. Note that some phones (especially iPhones) should have the option to return your phone to a restore point before you downloaded the virus, so a full factory reset may not even be necessary.

For you tech savvy readers, the last solution would be to strap on your virtual hunting gear and go virus hunting yourself. This entails scrolling through your list of installed apps and active processes on your phone and killing them off one by one until you notice the malware behavior has stopped. In particular, look for seemingly innocuous procs with suspiciously long runtimes, programs you don’t recognize, and apps with permissions they don’t need. Take caution as you do this though, as you don’t want to delete anything that your phone requires to run (though hypothetically you should be prevented from doing so). If you somehow break your phone, you can always perform a factory reset and start over.

To make virus hunting easier, you can try putting your phone in Safe Mode first to disable all non-native apps. On Androids, this is done by holding the power button to bring up the shut down options, and then long pressing “Power Off”. As for iPhones, I believe Safe Mode is only available on jailbroken devices; if any iPhone user can confirm this please reach out to me.

As always, the best way to prevent viruses and malware is vigilance on your part. In short, make sure you know what you’re clicking!