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Help Phone slowdown after internet link?

M

Mar

Well-Known Member
Hey guys and gals.

I was wondering if it is possible for the phone to get a virus or something. I accidentally clicked a spam link on twitter and now it seems to me that the phone is a bit slower. Is that possible or am I just being paranoid?

Thanks
 
Mar said:
Hey guys and gals.

I was wondering if it is possible for the phone to get a virus or something. I accidentally clicked a spam link on twitter and now it seems to me that the phone is a bit slower. Is that possible or am I just being paranoid?

Thanks
Click to expand...

There are no viruses for android. It does not run like Windows. Reboot and you're probably fine.
 
I have rebooted but still I am not sure. I am not necessarily talking about a virus but perhaps an app that has been installed without me knowing? I went through the app manager and i can't see anything strange apart from coupe of apps including dropbox which appear twice but with different versions but in the app drawer i can see only one version of it..
 
Yeah i have dropbox twice lol. Didnt really think anything of it. So in what way does the phone feel slower mate?
 
Well everytime i connect to the internet everything stutters a little bit and i dont think it did this before. Also some of the time the keyboard is a bit slow to respond.
 
Try the App Cache Cleaner widget from the play store mate. I know the s3 shouldnt need it in theory but i find that it does sometimes. Either that or boot into recovery mode and clear cache there :thumbup:
 
Mar said:
I have rebooted but still I am not sure. I am not necessarily talking about a virus but perhaps an app that has been installed without me knowing? I went through the app manager and i can't see anything strange apart from coupe of apps including dropbox which appear twice but with different versions but in the app drawer i can see only one version of it..
Click to expand...

An app cannot install without your permission. I think this is in your head, my friend. "Sometimes" and "I think" don't give us much to go by. Unless it is something noticeable and consistent, I would say continue on as usual.
 
It's highly unlikely that you have any malicious software (malware) installed on your phone. The slowdown you seem to be experiencing could simply be a flaky network connection or just a matter of clearing the browsers cache.

The term "Virus" is software that can reproduce and spread itself across to another machine/device. This isn't possible on mobile phones because the owner of the phone has to specifically give the software permission to install.

Malware is a possibility on a mobile device if you download and install software from an untrustworthy source. Especailly if that software is a cracked version of a paid app that you have obtained for free from a warez or file sharing site. But malware is not the same as a virus.
 
Anyway I understand that you can't get virus so that's good. i've cleared the internet cache. We'll see if it persists but ok it isn't that noticeable unless i am connecting to the internet on wifi. perhaps my wifi is playing up..
 
You may need to wipe the cache partition, do the following:
1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key at the same time.
3. When the phone vibrates, let go of the buttons.
4. Press the Volume Down key to move to and highlight wipe cache partition.
5. Press the Power key to select and wipe the cache partition.
6. After the wipe is finished, go back up till reboot system now is highlighted and press the Power key to restart the phone.
 
bigsmokefarmer said:
Mar when did you first see this? I have similar issues, that I've only seen this last week or so.
Click to expand...

It's only been in the last week as well.


GTwalling why would wiping the cache partition help? Is this a cache for the whole phone memory? What does it do?
 
Cache being (not full but... i cant think of the word lol) seems to slow things down like scrolling and keyboard input in my experience. I swear by App Cache Cleaner app/widget.. was it this thread where i already said that?.. anyway, that always butters things up for me but i dont know if it clears the same amount of cached data as doing it in recovery does or not..
P.s, in my mega-laymens thinking, i see "cache" as data saved to make things faster, like the cpu saves bits of data so it doesnt have to compute/load the same stuff again needlessly
 
But I am not doing anything differently than other times and if the system has parts saved for accessing it faster isn't it counter productive to delete them? It's the task killer debate again?
 
Mar said:
But I am not doing anything differently than other times and if the system has parts saved for accessing it faster isn't it counter productive to delete them? It's the task killer debate again?
Click to expand...

You would think so man but i defo need to clear the cache sometimes. Ram is a different story.. android handles that really well now :)
 
Glad clearing your cache worked. That said, however, it is possible for an Android device to get a virus. See the following link for a current, relevant example (security report):
Stels Android Trojan Malware Analysis | Dell SecureWorks
Just wanted to make sure there's no disinformation out there. A false sense of security is bad.

That said, you are safe if you've disabled installation of non-Marketplace apps, but a lot of us have turned that off so we can install stuff from the Amazon appstore. Turning it on after you've been infected is too late, btw.
 
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