Published on March 29th, 2023
These days your phone can become a target for viruses very easily which is a threat to your device and sensitive information.
You need to watch out for these seven signs below to detect and identify if your mobile phone has been infected with malicious software or virus attack by hackers:
1. Your Phone Battery Drains Out Quickly
An unusual quick battery drain may be a sign of concern. The unusual draining of your battery happens because your phone will be trying to meet the energy requirements of the virus.
This is why the draining problem remains as long as the virus is on the device.
2. Your Phone Shows Random Pop-up Ads Or New Apps On The Screen
Most of the pop-up ads on mobile screens do not have viruses and are only used for marketing purposes.
However, if you are closing pop-up ads more often than usual on your phone’s screen, then it might indicate a virus on your phone. Do not open any unknown apps in your phone which you do not remember installing and uninstall them immediately from your phone.
Hackers purposefully develop these unwanted apps to target smartphone users and contain malware which is activated when the app is opened or used.
3. Your Phone Becomes Physically Hot
Your mobile phone is not built to support viruses or malware. When you accidentally download apps which contain malware, your phone has to work harder to continue functioning.
In this case, your mobile might overheat and become physically hot.
4. Random Messages Are Sent From Your Device To Your Contacts
If your contacts in your phone receive unsolicited fraud emails or messages on social media from your account, especially the ones containing suspicious links, there is a strong chance that a virus may have accessed your phone’s contact list.
It is always recommended to let all the recipients know that hackers have hacked your mobile so that they do not download any malware themselves or forward those links to anybody else.
5. Your Mobile Phone Responds Slowly
If your mobile starts performing slowly then this is the sign of suspicious activity on your phone. Your mobile may slow down because it needs to work harder to support the downloaded virus.
Or in other cases, the apps containing malware might be occupying the storage space and running background tasks, causing your phone to run slowly.
6. You Discover Fraudulent Charges On Your Financial Accounts
It is always a good practice to follow up on the charges on your credit card or bank transactions in your banking statements that you do not recognize.
It could be a hacker’s designed app or a malware virus which may be making purchases through your account without your knowledge.
7. Your Smartphone Starts Consuming Excess Data
If you notice a sudden rise in your daily data usage then this might be a sign of virus on your smartphone.
A virus might be running on the background processes or using your internet connection to transfer your data out of your device for malicious purposes.
Top 7 Tips To Protect Your Phone From Virus
Follow the below 7 tips to reduce the risk of your mobile getting a virus and to stay safe online from hackers:
- Never ever during the installation, give an app, all the permissions it will ask for. In Spite of this you can choose to give it access to certain data only when required. Minimizing an app’s access to all your data and info keeps you safer.
- It is always recommended to avoid saving any of your login information on your phone’s browsers and log out safely when you are not using the browser. This is always a smart practice to follow which makes it harder for malware to access your accounts if you are not logged into during the attack.
- Always clear your phone’s browsing history and cache regularly. Also, keep scanning your browsing history to get rid of any links that seem suspicious.
- Always follow this rule of thumb to set up strong and unique passwords for your accounts instead of using the same or similar passwords for all your accounts. This prevents you from a domino effect in case one of your accounts is compromised.
- Always download an app from a trusted source, which is the authorized app store. Always follow the practice to read app reviews, see developer’s details, app’s details, permissions required and understand how the app intends to use your data.
- Always think twice before you click on any link sent to you via SMS, email, ad pop up, etc. on your mobile. In case you think it looks suspicious, then avoid clicking on it until you have more information about its trustworthiness. These links are often part of phishing frauds to target you via your mobile.
- Always update your operating system and your mobile apps regularly or whenever an update arrives. These regular updates enhance the previous security features as most of these updates contain security patches created to protect from specific threats in prior versions.
So, follow the above 7 measures to stay protected from virus attacks on your mobile.
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