Can Phones Get Viruses? True or False

Introduction

When people talk about malware, they usually think about computer viruses. Mobile devices, are often wrongly considered virus-resistant. 

This article will tell you more about phone malware and how to get rid of a phone virus if your device does get one. You will also learn that phone viruses work differently from those you get on your PC but have similar purposes.

Can Phones Get Viruses?

Phones can get viruses. Although there are fewer phone viruses simply because there’s more variety in mobile operating systems, infecting your device with malware does happen.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to download apps only from the official store. But, even if you do that, check app access. 

If an app asks you to get permissions for some functions it doesn’t need, deny that. For example, if you are downloading a simple alarm clock app, there’s absolutely no reason why it should gain access to your phonebook or camera. Remember, you need to give access to a malicious app for it to work – it won’t install itself.

How Do I Know If My Phone Is Infected?

If you have an iPhone or Android virus on your phone, the chances are it will start behaving differently in one way or another. 

For example, you might notice it’s overheating or that the battery suddenly doesn’t last as long. Performance drops are also common, so are crashing apps and intruding pop-ups. In some cases, you will start getting increased phone bills due to fraudulent charges caused by in-app purchases you know nothing about.

If you notice anything suspicious, act immediately. Start by going through the list of apps and uninstalling anything you think is suspicious or unnecessary.

Install Mobile Antivirus

Phone viruses are a real thing and is only natural to have antivirus apps that are compatible with mobile devices.

TotalAV will keep your device protected, whether a Windows PC, Mac, tablet, or Android or iOS phone. Our iOS and Android apps are designed to keep your phone protected, boost performance and optimize memory use while keeping you safe. 

You can also perform a manual phone virus scan for any suspicious files or apps and password-protect your apps, limiting access, further enhancing security.

What’s more, our Safe Browsing feature is actually a VPN (a virtual private network). It will allow you to enjoy free public WiFi without worrying about someone stealing your data. You will also access geo-restricted content no matter where you are.

Conclusion

As long as you have a trusted security suite like TotalAV installed on your phone and as long as you only download apps from official stores, you shouldn’t worry too much about phone viruses, at least for now. 

However, with more people browsing the web from their phones than computers, hackers try to find new ways to steal the information, which is why it makes sense to remain cautious. That’s why TotalAV gets daily malware definition updates to stay one step ahead of intruders and keep you protected.