Android mobile phones, computers and laptops mention all devices that are used in browsing the internet are all prone to malware. Annoying popup ads that show at any time and all the other sophisticated mobile spyware that allows hackers to spy on the activities by the users are the most common attacks on the devices. Viruses are very common in affecting our gadgets to. They are acquired mostly though internet downloads.
It is very important to ensure that the devices are free from malware all the times so as to ensure that the devices operate well and also that the personal data on our gadgets are not compromised. This article outlines the ways in which viruses can removed from smart phones, computers and laptops.
Smart Phones
First and foremost, removing a virus from a mobile phone starts with realising that the phone is infected. The following are the signs that show a mobile phone is affected by a virus.
- Decreased battery life
- The smart phone functions slowly.
- High data usage
- Suspicious notifications from banks and unknown services
- Pop up ads
These signs won`t be discuss in details here. The next step is getting rid of the malware. The following ways wil get rid of any malware in our phones.
- Uninstall any suspicious apps
Any app that is not useful and was not install by the owners of the device may be a maware and if left for so long may start to cause more problems on the device. It is therefore recommended that if one gets any apps on their devices and they have no idea of where they are from they should be uninstalled immediately. To do this:
- Go to settings
- Tap on apps and notifications then all apps
- Choose the app in questions then click on uninstall
If the uninstalled button is greyed, the app may have gained admin access. In this case:
- Go to settings then security & location
- Go to advance and then to device admin apps. Tap on the app in question to deactivate it then proceed back to the apps and notifications to uninstall it
- Run an antivirus
Today, there are many antiviruses in the internet. They are the best in clearing the viruses on our gadgets. First and foremost one need to visit the internet and do research on which Is the best antivirus to use then install it on the device. Run the antivirus scan and it will detect all the malware especially viruses that have affected the device. Note that after the antivirus runs, it scans all the malware and lists them for the user to proceed and remove it. The removing of the virus can be done from the app but in some cases there is the need to remove it from the phone settings.
- Factory reset
This function clears all the phone data. It is recommended that the user arises to this method after all the other methods prove not to be of assistance. It is done by:
- Backup any important data in the phone then proceed to settings
- Go to System > Advanced > Reset options then Erase all data.
Computers and laptops
Computers and laptops are more or less the same. The process followed in removing a virus using an antivirus and the signs that the device is infected are also the same as the ones on smart phone. Computers and laptops however have a method of removing the viruses via command prompt. The process followed in removing a virus using cmd is what this article will cover.
- Click on start button then type Command prompt. Right click on it and click on run as administrator. This opens a window that allows the keying in of commands
- Enter the drive that is infected with the antivirus e.g. For drive ‘D’ just type ‘D’
- Type `dir D` and hit enter. Following this command, will show you the directory of D drive.
- Type “dir D: attrib -s -h /s /d *.*” and then hit enter. This will search through all the hidden and system files in the drive
- In the window that shows the files, check of an unusual file with a exe extension.
- Rename the file by using this command – rename filename.extension new filename before deleting it.
Using the above procedure, one can remove viruses from the computer or USB drive without using an antvirus
The above procedure assists a lot in getting rid of viruses in a computer and mobile phone.
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