How to tell if your phone has a virus (and spot fake warnings)

On Android, Google Play Protect is built in and on by default, and it can warn you about potentially harmful apps. A virus pop-up in your browser is something else. Apple says a pop-up or alert that warns you about viruses on your device is usually a fraudulent ad, designed to trick you into installing harmful software or handing over personal information or money.

Fake virus warnings: how to spot them

• It appears while you browse. A pop-up or a new tab says your phone is infected or has been hacked, sometimes posing as Apple or another trusted company.
• It wants you to act now. Tap a button, install a “cleaner” or antivirus app, or call a number.
• It comes as a notification. A site you once allowed to send notifications can keep sending them. Chrome warns about some deceptive notifications.
• It sits in your calendar. On iPhone, spam events can come from a calendar you subscribed to by mistake.

Apple warns that some pop-ups have fake close buttons, so don’t tap anything inside the pop-up.

What to do if you see a virus warning or a “your phone has been hacked” pop-up

1. Don’t tap the warning, don’t call the number and don’t install anything it offers.
2. Close the tab. In Safari, you can also type a new address or search in the address bar.
3. If you typed a password on that page, change it right away. If you entered card details, contact your bank.
4. If the warnings come back, follow the steps below to get rid of the virus on your phone.

How to remove a virus from an Android phone

Google lists the signs of unwanted software: pop-up ads and new tabs that won’t go away, a home page or search engine that keeps changing, redirects to unfamiliar pages or ads, and alerts about a virus or an infected device. To remove a virus from your phone, first find the app behind it:

1. Restart in safe mode: press and hold the power button, then touch and hold Power off and confirm. “Safe mode” appears at the bottom of the screen. The steps vary by phone.
2. Remove recently downloaded apps one by one, and restart normally after each to see if the problem is gone.
3. Make sure Play Protect is on: in the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Play Protect › Settings, and turn on Scan apps with Play Protect.

If the warnings come as Chrome notifications, turn them off for that site: open the site, tap the icon to the left of the address, then Permissions › Notifications. To turn off notifications for all sites:

Can an iPhone get a virus?

Apple runs every app from other developers in its own sandbox, which is designed to keep apps from gathering or changing other apps’ data and from making changes to the device. A virus pop-up on iPhone is usually a fraudulent ad in Safari, and unwanted invitations or subscriptions in Calendar are another kind of scam. To clean up:

1. In Settings › Apps › Safari, tap Clear History and Website Data.
2. On the same screen, keep Block Pop-ups and Fraudulent Website Warning turned on.
3. In the Calendar app, tap the spam event and choose Delete Event, or Report Junk if it came from an unknown contact. If the events come from a subscribed calendar, tap Calendars, then the info button next to it, and Unsubscribe.
4. In Settings › General › VPN & Device Management, delete any profile you don’t recognize. If you use Seawall, keep the Seawall profile.
5. Install the latest iOS update.

Do you need virus protection on your phone?

Android has built-in malware protection: Google Play Protect, which is on by default. It checks apps from the Play Store before you download them, checks your phone for harmful apps from other sources, warns you and can turn off or remove them. Install apps from the Play Store or, on iPhone, from the App Store, which Apple calls the safest way to download apps.

Never install a “cleaner” or antivirus app because a pop-up told you to. That’s exactly what fake warnings are after.

How a DNS filter helps

Fake virus warnings are usually ads or scam pages. A DNS filter like Seawall checks every address your phone looks up against lists of ads, trackers, malware and scams, and blocks the known ones in every browser and app. It doesn’t scan or remove apps, so keep Play Protect on and your phone updated. Set it up with Private DNS on Android or the Seawall profile on iPhone.