How to check Android phone for viruses

Devices are protected by antiviruses pre-installed in the app store, firmware or downloaded separately. Next, we will tell you how to check the phone Android for viruses and what threats cannot be detected / neutralized by antivirus software.

What are viruses

Conventionally, infected software is divided into:

1. Spy — after penetrating the device, it gets access to personal information user and transfers it to remote servers.
2. Trojan - disguise themselves as normal applications, try to infect as many files as possible and penetrate other devices.
3. Miner - uses a single-chip system to mine cryptocurrency.

There is infected software/files that do not harm the device and are necessary to infect other devices:

How to detect an infection

Symptoms of smartphone infection with viruses:

The most dangerous viruses

There are thousands of threats for smartphones of different levels, but on their The background is highlighted 3 of the most interesting:

1. Triada - Troyan, which, after penetrating the device, collects information about it and shares it with a remote server. From there, the instruction on the way to access the device to remain invisible to anti-virus software. The main goal of Trojan is to intercept payments in online stores and Internet banking, transferring money to other people's accounts.
2. XHELPER - Troyan is integrated with services Google and begins to send advertising to users. It cannot be deleted even when the settings return to the factory state.
3. DIRTY COW - Hackers are used to be lowered in the kernel Linux to obtain root-rights access and access and Fully capture the device. Dangers are subject to Android database from version 1.0 to 6.0.1.

In 2015-2017, unknown Chinese manufacturers were prestructed to their Triada firmware and another malicious software.

Check for viruses

We mention all ways to check the device using built-in software and antiviruses.

We use Play Protection

in Play Market Daily download hundreds of applications and games that pass automatic moderation, which leaves Chance to skip the project infected with the virus. Given this problem, Google added Antivirus to his store:

Step 1. Open Play Market.

Step 2. Tap on the Account Avatar.

Step 3. Select " Play Protection".

Step 4. Tap for " Check". Scanning programs installed from the store will begin.

Step 5. Wait for the end of the check.

Step 6. When problems are detected, a message appears in the notification curtain.

Play Protection operates in the background, independently checking the applications once every 6-12 hours.

Built-in Antivirus

Brands Xiaomi, Samsung, Realme, OPPO and others add to branded firmware for cleaning and protecting the smartphone from viruses. How to work with them:

Step 1. Run the application " Cleaning," Security"or similar.

Step 2. In the list of tools, select " Antivirus" or " Virus Search. ​​"

Step 3. starts automatic scanning of the file system installed by software.

To increase the scanning efficiency:

Step 1. Open " settings"In the check window - have a shape of a gear.

Step 2. Turn on " Full scanning", check " Update database"And activate additional tools" AI-mechanism, " . Normal check".

why it is not necessary to rely on the pre-installed antivirus:

1. The manufacturer may turn off the detection of malicious software pre-installed in firmware.
2. The available databases are inferior to analogues from large antiviruses that we will tell below.
3. On smartphones, deprived of support, antiviral databases are not updated at all.

Antiviruses from Play Market

All major antivirus manufacturers have mobile versions of antiviruses available on Android. All of them are posted in Play Market, similar to the interface, but differ in databases. As an example, consider Kaspersky Internet Security.

Step 1. Run the application after installation.

Step 2. Read the User Agreement.

Step 3. Provide access to the memory of the device.

Step 4. Skip the window with a proposal to buy a paid subscription.

Step 5. Tap " Check".

Step 6. ​​Wait for the end of the process.

Choosing antivirus, pay attention to:

Little-known Chinese projects create the visibility of verification and created to promote advertising. A similar way is part of applications that optimize smartphones: cleansing cache, operational and constant memory. In them, the antivirus is added to attract users.

It is worth abandoning products Avast and AVG , both companies were exposed on the sale of personal data of users.

How to protect against viruses

What to do to avoid infection:

Conclusion

Checking the phone to viruses helps to reveal and get rid of the threat, avoid leakage personal data or money from Internet banking. You should not neglect this and hope that you are not interested in intruders.