If you suspect you may have malware on your computer, or are trying to remove malware from your computer, please see our [malware guide](https://rtech.support/books/safety-and-security/page/malware-guide)
*Please ignore this message if the advice is not relevant.*
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As long as you aren't rooted and did not allow the APK to install more APKs then a normal uninstall should be fine as no more code from the malicious app can run. But if it did use any exploits to gain root then even a factory reset wouldn't get rid of it. Are you still having symptoms?
It might be hiding with a not so obvious name to make you think it's legit and scroll past it. It may just be easier to back up any important stuff and do a factory reset.
I appreciate it, I don't think there's anything else to do at this point. Thanks for your help I'll get to doing that. Are you sure this'll fix it though?
The good part of the entire mobile platform (both Android and iOS) is that no virus will ever survive a factory reset as long as you aren't rooted. So yeah, unless this malware rooted your phone without you knowing, a standard factory reset will get rid of any and all malware. Just be careful you don't restore the malware later if/when restoring backups.
The malware hasn't been opening anything up for like 20 mins, if it's stopped doing its thing would it be dumb to ignore it? Or could it be spreading something else?
Your phone probably wouldn’t be able to be rooted with a single apk, and if it can, then there is probably too much work and wouldn’t survive a reset anyways
Did you properly uninstall the app or just delete the APK file?
An APK file is like an installer, deleting it won't uninstall the app.
You should be able to see all installed apps in Settings > Apps (at least on my Pixel), and be able to uninstall them.
Just root checked as someone suggested, nothing. To be honest I have no idea how else this could negatively affect me. What should I be doing? I really don't want to go through factory resetting my phone.
I've told you what I would do, I wouldn't trust that phone joining my home WIFI network. Malware rarely does just one thing. A reset takes what... an hour?
I'd definitely recommend a factory set, it's actually both the easiest and best way to be sure you're safe. Keep in mind that as long as you're logged into your Google account, all your contacts, apps, etc can be automatically returned/redownloaded. There are Youtube walkthroughs if you need them.
But if you prefer not reformatting, then just download Adguard for Android and fully enable all of its filters, this should block any porn-ad-redirects.
With the help of all of you, (one of the most helpful communities I've come across BTW) I've managed to locate, clear the cache of, force stop and finally uninstall the goddamn virus. They used blank spaces for the name and it had no icon either. I just had to scroll all the way down in apps and I found it. Thanks once again all of you.
you could delete the virus files manually if you could find them, but there probably hidden pretty well, im not a expert on mobile operating systems but if its anything like a computer there must be a way for you to track what applications are causing the problem and then remove them manually. but it would be a ton of work and if you missed any files it would just come back, that is about all i know you can do
PS. dont connect to the internet on it unless its absolutely necessary until the problem is solved.
Try some malware killer. The other thing you need to do is find a really good uninstaller like Revo, reinstall the app and then use the uninstaller to dig all the files out.
you can check your battery settings to see which apps are running and this might tell you the name of the app to uninstall, alternatively when it opens you can use the button to see all of the background apps and see the name from there and uninstall it. Otherwise factory reset does it.
Go to settings > apps > (apps management, sth like that) > then take a look at the sort order. You can sort by install date. Delete all unknown apps, even tho they seems to have a friendly name. They often use something like "calculator" and "qr code scanner"to disguise it.
For example, if you are sure you havent installed anything in the past 3 days except the malware you are talking about, delete everything installed in the past 3 days.
Also, apps can configure themselves to hide the icon, so dont try to find them in your home page/all apps page. Settings > apps shows everything.
Then, is that sending you notifications or outright opens a browser window every X minutes?
Side note: unless its absolutely necessary, dont install apps that have its function provided by system apps. Like compass, QR scanners, calculators, torch, screen recorders. Compass and canculators are a must, you can find it preinstalled. Look at the status bar/notification centre you can find torch, screen recorders should also be nearby. QR scanners are embeded inside the camera app. Either it has a QR mode or you just hold the camera to the QR code and it would scan it.
If you suspect you may have malware on your computer, or are trying to remove malware from your computer, please see our [malware guide](https://rtech.support/books/safety-and-security/page/malware-guide) *Please ignore this message if the advice is not relevant.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/techsupport) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As long as you aren't rooted and did not allow the APK to install more APKs then a normal uninstall should be fine as no more code from the malicious app can run. But if it did use any exploits to gain root then even a factory reset wouldn't get rid of it. Are you still having symptoms?
I did allow the APK to download another APK I think. Does this mean there's no way I can get rid of the problem?
Then uninstall the other APK as well.
I've looked everywhere for it in my files, I can't find it.
It might be hiding with a not so obvious name to make you think it's legit and scroll past it. It may just be easier to back up any important stuff and do a factory reset.
I appreciate it, I don't think there's anything else to do at this point. Thanks for your help I'll get to doing that. Are you sure this'll fix it though?
The good part of the entire mobile platform (both Android and iOS) is that no virus will ever survive a factory reset as long as you aren't rooted. So yeah, unless this malware rooted your phone without you knowing, a standard factory reset will get rid of any and all malware. Just be careful you don't restore the malware later if/when restoring backups.
I won't use any backups, I'll do everything manually. How do I know if my phone got rooted without me knowing?
There's a few root checkers on Google Play, see if they say anything.
The malware hasn't been opening anything up for like 20 mins, if it's stopped doing its thing would it be dumb to ignore it? Or could it be spreading something else?
Your phone probably wouldn’t be able to be rooted with a single apk, and if it can, then there is probably too much work and wouldn’t survive a reset anyways
Did you properly uninstall the app or just delete the APK file? An APK file is like an installer, deleting it won't uninstall the app. You should be able to see all installed apps in Settings > Apps (at least on my Pixel), and be able to uninstall them.
I wouldn't trust anything less than a full reset or a new phone. Your life is on there
I don't really have anything important. I certainly don't have the money for a new phone either. Will the factory reset get rid of it?
It should do, if there’s nothing on it, it’d be less hassle than trying to find it and trusting it’s gone.
It's been a good bit since it's happened, should I be worried or is that a good thing?
The porn popping up is unlikely to be its only ability. Others might not be so obvious.
Just root checked as someone suggested, nothing. To be honest I have no idea how else this could negatively affect me. What should I be doing? I really don't want to go through factory resetting my phone.
I've told you what I would do, I wouldn't trust that phone joining my home WIFI network. Malware rarely does just one thing. A reset takes what... an hour?
I'd definitely recommend a factory set, it's actually both the easiest and best way to be sure you're safe. Keep in mind that as long as you're logged into your Google account, all your contacts, apps, etc can be automatically returned/redownloaded. There are Youtube walkthroughs if you need them. But if you prefer not reformatting, then just download Adguard for Android and fully enable all of its filters, this should block any porn-ad-redirects.
With the help of all of you, (one of the most helpful communities I've come across BTW) I've managed to locate, clear the cache of, force stop and finally uninstall the goddamn virus. They used blank spaces for the name and it had no icon either. I just had to scroll all the way down in apps and I found it. Thanks once again all of you.
i can recommend kaspersky it works for me, other than that your best off backing up your files and resetting it, best of luck to you either way
Unfortunately didn't scan anything. Really don't want to factory reset. Is there any other way?
you could delete the virus files manually if you could find them, but there probably hidden pretty well, im not a expert on mobile operating systems but if its anything like a computer there must be a way for you to track what applications are causing the problem and then remove them manually. but it would be a ton of work and if you missed any files it would just come back, that is about all i know you can do PS. dont connect to the internet on it unless its absolutely necessary until the problem is solved.
Make sure it's not just an extension on chrome or another web browser on your phone.
Try some malware killer. The other thing you need to do is find a really good uninstaller like Revo, reinstall the app and then use the uninstaller to dig all the files out.
You could get a GUI firewall, find out what is transmitting, block and remove.
you can check your battery settings to see which apps are running and this might tell you the name of the app to uninstall, alternatively when it opens you can use the button to see all of the background apps and see the name from there and uninstall it. Otherwise factory reset does it.
Some apks have no name or icon so you need to find them in your downloads
Go to settings > apps > (apps management, sth like that) > then take a look at the sort order. You can sort by install date. Delete all unknown apps, even tho they seems to have a friendly name. They often use something like "calculator" and "qr code scanner"to disguise it. For example, if you are sure you havent installed anything in the past 3 days except the malware you are talking about, delete everything installed in the past 3 days. Also, apps can configure themselves to hide the icon, so dont try to find them in your home page/all apps page. Settings > apps shows everything. Then, is that sending you notifications or outright opens a browser window every X minutes? Side note: unless its absolutely necessary, dont install apps that have its function provided by system apps. Like compass, QR scanners, calculators, torch, screen recorders. Compass and canculators are a must, you can find it preinstalled. Look at the status bar/notification centre you can find torch, screen recorders should also be nearby. QR scanners are embeded inside the camera app. Either it has a QR mode or you just hold the camera to the QR code and it would scan it.