AVG Mobilation cannot fix suspicious message

[jpaulmorr]

I made the mistake of opening a web site in an email from a relative in England. Now AVG Mobilation (Free) says there is a suspicious message, but the "fix" button doesn't remove it. I am guessing that it is sitting in my files somewhere, but have tried deleting everything I don't recognize and the message keeps showing up every time I do the scan! Help would be much appreciated!

 

[wayrad]

Well, if it were me and the phone was behaving normally, I think I'd get rid of AVG Mobilation. There aren't any true viruses for Android, most malware is easily avoided by exercising vigilance in what apps you install, and I don't see how a message of any kind could harm your phone ( I could be wrong, but I've never heard of anything like that that I can recall, at least in the absence of a malware app having previously been installed by someone with physical access to the phone). Perhaps the antivirus just thinks you got a scam or phishing message, or maybe it's a false alarm, or maybe it just doesn't work properly.

 

[jpaulmorr]

"I don't see how a message of any kind could harm your phone" - I agree with you, Wayrad, but I think my relative does have a virus or Trojan on his system, which sent out references to strange web sites. When I accessed the first one, it appears to have downloaded something, which I would like to get rid of! AVG Mobilation reports it as being in "Content" (as opposed to Apps, or Settings) - any idea how to get rid of it? e.g.. is it somewhere in MyFiles? TIA

 

[wayrad]

I think a downloaded file would go to the download folder on your SD card, and could be seen with a file manager (Astro is free and good if you don't have one already). But it's very unlikely that any random dubious file you download from a web site will be targeted toward Android systems or can do anything to your phone, except sit there in the download folder. I'm not even sure if a malicious site could add a bookmark to or redirect an Android browser (I suppose it's possible, but it's unlikely anyone would bother) but you could always check that. Or maybe "Content" just refers to a message again. Could also be an image or audio file, I suppose; you could check what you have there. Hard to tell without knowing the exact symptoms - maybe someone else can make further suggestions.

 

[AngryHatter]

Since not one AV suite has EVER found an instance of malware before Google or the community at large, I'd call it a really false positive and uninstall AVG.

 

[wayrad]

Yeah, I'm inclined to think it'd be a heck of a coincidence if they hit a download link at the same time AVG gave an alert (although for all I know, maybe it does it at any download, just to create the impression of doing something!). And it's not like just visiting a website would do anything to the phone. These antivirus apps seem to cause a lot of fear and uncertainty.

But I can understand the OP wanting to know if they downloaded anything they didn't intend to have cluttering up their phone, if they have some reason other than a so-called antivirus app to think they might have.

 

[wayrad]

accidental double post, sorry

 

[jpaulmorr]

Thanks for your feedback, guys. I am embarrassed - AVG Mobilation said "suspicious message", and I kept thinking emails. Actually, the file causing the problem landed up in the messages folder, and it was even marked "suspicious" in red!!! Deleting that gave me a clean scan. So, yes, I totally agree that it could not have caused any problems, but there was indeed something there, and it is now gone! So it looks like AVG Mobilation has some use - and I believe it is just a matter of time before the hackers start targeting smartphones... Thanks again!

 

[AngryHatter]

Thanks for your feedback, guys. I am embarrassed - AVG Mobilation said "suspicious message", and I kept thinking emails. Actually, the file causing the problem landed up in the messages folder, and it was even marked "suspicious" in red!!! Deleting that gave me a clean scan. So, yes, I totally agree that it could not have caused any problems, but there was indeed something there, and it is now gone! So it looks like AVG Mobilation has some use - and I believe it is just a matter of time before the hackers start targeting smartphones... Thanks again!

They already have; however AV for a sandbox is useless.