Virus on Android Phone

[belthagor]

Hello everyone.

 

Today in the morning I went to buy groceries and someone had their phone pulled out. I don't have an anti-virus installed on my cellphone because I don't visit any malicious websites and I believe that they somehow installed a virus on my phone through my wifi while walking by (They were just standing there using their phone.) I could complain but I don't remember the person. They were standing across near the bread isle.

 

Anyway I noticed that my phone was installing apps albeit slowly. Lyft. Crossword puzzle master. And have disconnected the internet on it plus turned it off to prevent that from happening.

 

My question is: Because I know many people will say to bring the phone to the local office that I get service from: This costs a bit of money.

 

Is it possible for me to remove it myself. I'm quite tech-savvy but I have never fixed a phone before.

 

I can think of two options:

 

Option one: Do a factory reset with the phone internet turned off (risky)

 

Option two: Connect the phone to my computer and virus scan it using my anti-virus on pc but the thing is I don't know if it can remove a cellphone virus. Alternatively there may be an antivirus that I can download on my pc to scan my phone with which is where professionals of this forum come in.

 

Option three: Just bring it to a store and pay the 20? dollars

 

The phone is not overheating. Just adding apps very slowly. (Two apps.)

 

I need my phone to speak with family and my doctors so it'd be nice if you could help out.

 

I've seen a few people use all kinds of programs on their phone someone managed to open the same internet tabs I have, once, from a distance years ago. So I guess this is quite possible.

 

P.S. This forum is vast and if this is in the wrong forum section please kindly move it to the right one.

[belthagor]

The only thing I have to add is that the same thing happened about a decade and a half ago.

[belthagor]

Factory Reset Worked

 

https://about.att.com/pages/cyberaware/ni/blog/how-to-remove-phone-virus

 

Close this please.

[Blue4130]

18 minutes ago, belthagor said:

 

 

Today in the morning I went to buy groceries and someone had their phone pulled out. I don't have an anti-virus installed on my cellphone because I don't visit any malicious websites and I believe that they somehow installed a virus on my phone through my wifi while walking by (They were just standing there using their phone.) I could complain but I don't remember the person. They were standing across near the bread isle.

That is some next level conspiracy tinfoil hat stuff.

[belthagor]

The last thing before this is closed. Is there a pc antivirus that can scan a phone?

[Blue4130]

Just now, belthagor said:

The last thing before this is closed. Is there a pc antivirus that can scan a phone?

Can't you install a phone version?

[belthagor]

I guess I can install it now that I reset the phone.

[belthagor]

It may have happened some other way and I'm over-reacting.

 

It was a long time ago I'm in Europe and someone pulls out their phone I noticed they somehow load the same tabs that I have on mine. I was in HS back then. I have no idea how they did it or who the person was.

[belthagor]

internet window tabs, to explain

[belthagor]

They purchased a copy of my book after. It was one of the tabs I had open.

[belthagor]

I already complained about it years ago and I don't think I should make back to back posts. Close this please.

[Skipple]

Your phone was more than likely restoring apps you have previously downloaded. What reason would an virus download Lyft and and a crossword game. Take a breath and re-evaluate. 

[J0LT]

What Skipple said ^

Another thing to note is that sometimes your carrier will install apps for you. Sometimes after a software update I find a few slop games downloaded automatically. 

 

As for the anti virus on the phone question. If you are that concerned, I believe that Malwarebytes has a phone version. Would be my personal recommendation if you were truly worried about it.