Feature
Secure your phone (^) «
Save your device!
D
iscovering your phone has been infected
with a virus or other bug isn’t a nice
experience, but by acting quickly you can
attempt to save your device. Before taking the
necessary steps to permanently remove the
problematic apps causing the issue, you fi rst need
to evaluate just how badly your device has been
affected. Are your passwords compromised? Have
you been locked out of certain apps? These are all
questions you need to ask yourself before
continuing with the steps below.
You need to act quickly if you
discover your device has
been infected
Even when you think you’ve identifi ed the
problem app, it’s important to do a full scan of your
device to fi nd the real extent of the problem.
Download the Avast app from the Google Play store
and choose the Run Scan option available on the
main screen of the app.
2 Scan for threats
Swipe left on the next screen to open up the
Running tab. Here you’ll fi nd a list of all the apps
currently running on your device. What you should
instantly notice is that the malicious apps are also
listed here, but by pressing on them and selecting
Uninstall you can remove them.
5 Uninstall apps
Once the scan has fi nished, you’ll be able
to see not only the apps that are not only causing
the problem but also the fi les that are affected.
It’s highly recommended that you now go to each
fi le and permanently delete it from your device to
at least stem the infection.
3 Evaluate the problem
Go back to Avast and perform a second
scan to make sure the infection has now been
removed. Once done, use the app’s backup
feature to fully back up your phone’s contents to
the cloud. This is more a precaution against any
subsequent infections that could appear.
6 Scan and backup
Most infections will come in the form of
pop-up ads, or simple malware infections. Although
not too detrimental to your device, they can cause
signifi cant slowdown in all areas of your phone or
tablet. Go through your app drawer to fi nd the
troublesome rogue app.
1 Type of infection
Open up the Settings menu on your device
and scroll down until your fi nd the section named
Apps. Depending on how many apps you have
currently got installed, and how badly your device
has been infected, it can take a few minutes for this
menu to open.
4 Apps section