The possibility of being infected with virus (malware) su Android it is sadly high since some malware appeared on Google Play. The market is flooded with several malicious apps on a daily basis, especially since Google doesn't carefully check all apps. This is not good news since the phone may behave strangely due to an infected app. In this article we see what are the "alarm bells" to consider and which tell us if our Android device is infected or not.
1: Calls dropped
If you call someone and the conversation suddenly drops you are probably infected with malware (unless you are calling from under a tunnel). Malware has a tendency to interfere with calls when using the cell phone antenna. Some of these malware are also capable of recording what you are saying on the phone. This is a massive invasion of privacy that must be stopped immediately.
2: Surprises in the bill
When you receive the invoice, pay close attention to it. If you see a spike in SMS activity or abnormal data usage, it is possible that an app is doing all this on the sly. In fact, some infected apps send sporadic messages, which makes it difficult to tell them apart. Also ask your contacts if they have received any strange messages.
3: The phone has a lot of junk files
Just like Windows viruses, some malware on Android can cause significant drops in the performance of the platform you are using. If your phone becomes nearly unusable, or you have difficulty switching between apps, this kind of performance drop is a sign of a virus.
How to stop and prevent malware on Android
First of all, you need to have a competent antivirus application installed on your phone. I recommend Avast! o Lookout. This type of app will help you get rid of anything that creates problems on your device. To prevent infections, take the following precautions:
- If you want to download an app on Google Play, check the reviews first. If the app is dangerous, surely some people will write it. Also see how many people have downloaded the app. If it's not popular enough then you're taking a higher risk.
- If the app is new and has few downloads, check if the developer has other apps that have good reviews. You can see this by clicking on the developer's name.
- Go to “Settings -> All Settings -> Security -> Device Administration” and verify that the checkbox next to “unknown sources” is empty. I know I said before that Google is having a hard time regulating its booming market, but such management is better than nothing.
