How To Scan For Viruses On Android Phone: 3 Easy Ways

How To Scan For Viruses On Android Phone? A virus is a malicious piece of code that can cause abrupt behaviors in any operating software.

It is a type of malware that can stay hidden and even replicate itself without your knowledge. It is a dangerous deal no matter how it works or why and how it possesses your Android devices.

Viruses can remove, steal, and destroy the access and data on your phone. Additionally, they can lock your data or send unnecessary SMS messages to your contact. They can even fire huge phone bills using your account or credit card details. 

The silver lining is that cases of an Android phone getting infected by a virus are rare. Yet it is a possibility. 

Although it is unfavorable, let’s prep you to avoid and handle such scenarios in a few more minutes.

How To Scan For Viruses On Android Phone
Run a virus scan on your Android smartphone

Indications of Virus on Android device

  1. Troublesome pop-ups
  2. Increased Data usage
  3. Frequent App Crashes
  4. Device Over Heating Issues
  5. Rapid Battery Drainage

Indications of Virus on Android device

Here are a few signs that indicate the presence of a virus on your mobile phone

1. Troublesome pop-ups

Running Ads is part of today’s digital campaigns. With this, it is now acceptable to view ads on numerous websites.

However, if you are getting unwanted adware pop-ups on your mobile when you are not using the internet, that’s a hint of a viral infection on your phone.

Troublesome pop-ups in an Android can indicate the presence of virus on the device.

2. Increased Data usage

A virus or any malware is programmed to perform malicious activities in the background. It is majorly dependent on an internet connection.

Using this or a Wi-Fi connection can send your data to suspicious sites or servers.

At the same time, they consume considerable internet bandwidth to accomplish this. Hence, leaving another trail of suspicious activity.

Increased data usage can be due to virus on Android

3. Frequent App Crashes

It is usual for mobile apps to crash once in a while. It can be due to a weak network, less usable memory, and other reasons.

But if the apps on your phone crash way more than usual, chances are your phone is dealing with a virus.

Increased app crash incidents on Android can be due to malware on the device

4. Device Over Heating Issues

Every smartphone has its usage limits. Thus, overheating becomes a common scenario whenever apps hit their limits. But what if you are not using many apps and still your phone is overheating?

It is a sign that the malware infections in the background processes are causing this temperature rise.

5. Rapid Battery Drainage

Since viruses rely on the internet to run backstage processes, they are dependent on a power source.

And in this case, the battery of your smartphone. Hence, if you are observing rapid drainage of your phone’s battery, it can be the doing of malicious apps.

Rapid Battery usage on Android phone can be due to virus running hidden background processes.

How to Scan For Virus on An Android Phone

  1. Use Antivirus apps
  2. Use Android Safe Mode
  3. Verify The Installed Apps

How to Scan For Virus on An Android Phone

1. Use Antivirus apps

As the name suggests, an antivirus app is responsible for scanning and locating the virus. There are several excellent such apps available in the Google Play store.

You can download any reliable antivirus software or apps on your phone and run a quick or detailed scan.

Once the scan results are ready, the app will show the detected virus and the ways to remove it. But, the removal will begin only when you approve of it.

2. Use Android Safe Mode

Android phones are equipped with various features that you are not aware of. One such feature is the safe mode.

The benefit is that it restricts all third-party apps from running, including malware apps.

To enter this mode, press the power button for over 1 second. You’ll see the option to restart/reboot your phone.

Now long-press the reboot button. This action will prompt you to continue your phone in safe mode. Click okay, and then it will restart in the selected mode.

3. Verify The Installed Apps

On any Android phone, there are a certain number of pre-installed apps. And then there are the ones you chose to install from the Google Play store.

But if your phone is infected with a virus, chances are they’ll be some existing apps without your knowledge or permission. 

To cross-check this, you should access the mobile security in the phone settings. Go to the Apps section to list all apps and see if any invade your privacy. Or you can check for apps that have admin permissions for the mobile phone.

How to Remove Viruses from Android Phones

  1. Uninstall Recent Downloads
  2. Remove Cache and Cookies
  3. Uninstall Suspicious Apps
  4. Reset Your Device
  5. Disable Unknown Downloads Permissions
  6. Enable Google Play Protect
  7. Use Antivirus Apps

How to Remove Viruses from Android Phones

1. Uninstall Recent Downloads

In most cases, the different third-party apps bring along spyware. However, in some cases, it can be the recently downloaded files, such as email attachments. Or it might be that a junk file was mistakenly downloaded by you.

Therefore, you should check the recent downloads on your device. Or you can check the download history from your mobile browsers such as Edge or Chrome browser.

Remove or Uninstall Recent Downloads in Android to remove virus

2. Remove Cache and Cookies

The browser cache is responsible for storing your browsing history. It also helps in providing a smooth internet surfing experience.

But if any of the recent downloads have caused the rooting of malware, then the cache will most probably hold the references to that as well.

Therefore, you should remove the cache and cookies from different websites on your mobile web browser.

Remove cookies and clear cache in Android browsers to remove virus

3. Uninstall Suspicious Apps

If none of the junk files was downloaded, then let’s conduct an in-depth review of the apps available on your phone. You can follow the below steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone. Next, search for the ‘Apps and Notifications section. This selection will list all the available apps on your phone.

2. Ensure that the list only has the apps installed by you. Further, check for the permissions of any app that you find suspicious.

3. You can either deny specific permissions or uninstall the app altogether.

Remove suspicious apps in Android devices as they can install malware on the device

4. Reset Your Device

If the above methods don’t make a safe way out, then you can consider resetting your device. Follow these instructions to factory reset your Android device.

1. Open the Settings app and navigate to open System details.

2. Open the ‘reset options’ menu Under the System tab.

3. Click on Erase All data or factory reset.

4. You need to provide your confirmation, and the phone will be as new in a few minutes.

Factory reset your device to remove malware from Android

5. Disable Unknown Downloads Permissions

The unknown download permissions can be why certain apps or junk files were downloaded without your knowledge. You can check and disable this internet security violation using the below steps:

1. Open the Settings app and head to the Security or Apps & Notifications menu.

2. Under this, you can locate the Install unknown apps option.

3. Click on it to view the permissions. Now, you should be able to see if any app has the right to install unknown apps.

4. If so, remove the permission right away.

Check and disable unknown downloads on the Android devices as the permitted apps can install viruses
Disable Unknown Downloads Permissions

6. Enable Google Play Protect

Google Play Protect is an enhanced internet security feature provided by the manufacturer of Android. This feature has been available since the 6th version of Android.

Its job is to track the apps and detect unusual behaviors. This helps in the early detection of malware on the phone. Hence, enabling it provides real-time protection from malware apps. Here’s how you can enable it:

1. Open Google Play Store and go to your profile section.

2. A menu will open with the Play protect option.

3. Enable it to scan your device now and keep doing so in the future.

Enable Google play protect to remove virus from Android

7. Use Antivirus Apps

Verified apps in the Google play store can help you detect viruses on your Android device.

If they read any malware post-device scan, they suggest you remove the detected files or apps causing it.  You can follow the onscreen instructions to remove the malware and clean your phone.

Use antivirus apps from Play store to scan and remove virus from Android