Help Adware popping up on my home screen and lock screen

[Anonio Giovannini]

Brand new samsung a10 s, got it two days ago, i was looking for a cool wallpaper for my new phone on the internet, downloaded one, but tapped "accept" on way to many things without really reading what i was accepting, i saw the words "allow this app to..." and since i was on chrome i assumed that by "this app" it meant chrome, so i just thought "it's probably just a big picture that needs to download, maybe my phone is still new and doesnt have anything enabled" i'm not very versed in the technological arts so i dont know if there's like some kind of "big file enabler", the more i write about it the dumber it sounds. Anyway, now i get pop ups as soon as i unlock my phone, covers the whole screen. It's always the same one, a picture of a battery at 67% and a man karate chopping some bricks... also i get single milf notifications. I've read a little about what i can do, there are other cases like mine it seems, unfortunately the answer isnt very clear, it says stuff like Malwarebytes and other anti-virus apps dont detect the adware and are thus... useless; which i can confirm since i downloaded an app called avg anti virus and it did nothing... Cool. They also say to delete any app that might be causing the popups but i'm pretty sure it isnt an app, its some virus i downloaded instead of that stupid poster... If you have any ideas please do share them i'm desperate

 

[olbriar]

If your phone is brand new you might consider starting all over again. It will clear out whatever went wrong and give you a fresh start on setting it up more carefully. Welcome to Android Forums Anonio. I hope that you enjoy your time here.

 

[ocnbrze]

i agree, a factory reset might be the thing to do here. just be sure that you do not install whatever wallpaper app that was associated with the adware.

 

[puppykickr]

It sounds like whatever wallpaper you downloaded is the culprit.

Get rid of it.

Then do these things:

Go into:
Settings
Apps
All Apps

and scroll all the way to the bottom.

What you are looking for is an app with no name and no icon.

Without a name, you can't search for it, without an icon it won't show up in your app drawer.

So, if you find an app that fits this description, delete it.
Use the uninstall function.

I have made a short video showing exactly what to look for and what to do.
It is kind of old, but it serves the purpose.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IObrh-gc1MEg9LAHj2Cl4pGrlF0xTJu7/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[puppykickr]

As for your wallpaper, just do a search for what is in the image you want. Don't search for 'wallpapers', and a wallpaper app is not needed.

Goto 'images' on your browser, and an image that you enjoy should be found.

Download that one image. (Often long pressing it will bring up an options menu.)

Goto your Gallery and locate the image, and long press it or tap it, or use the menu button to bring the 'set as' option up.

Click that and choose 'wallpaper'.

 

[Hadron]

Yeah, that "wallpaper" you installed probably was an app ("live wallpapers" are apps themselves, and there are many apps whose purpose is to provide a selection of wallpapers).

There is no distinction between a "virus" and an app. Android malware takes the form of "trojans", i.e. malware hidden inside an app that the user installs. So I'm 100% certain that is what happened here: you installed adware when you downloaded that wallpaper. Whether the adware is the wallpaper itself (if it's a live wallpaper), a "wallpaper app" or another app that was downloaded and which you installed (allowed Chrome to install) at the same time, the adware is an app and if you find and delete it the ads will stop.