Help I think I have an adware virus - how do I remove it?

[MoodyBlues]

not to mention that google contacts get saved automatically without the need to backup the info. i never have worried about losing my contacts. just sign in whenever i get a new phone and BOOM!!! they are there.....easy peasy!!!!!

Right--but you have to tell it to do that. I think it's usually done as part of setting up a new device, but can be adjusted any time via:

System Settings | System | Backup | Backup to Google Drive -- you can also 'backup now' while there.

Here's some useful info from Google about backing up and restoring various data.

 

[Notes_Norton]

Thanks again. I think I'll back up just to be double-sure I don't lose one.

I play music for a living, and while I generally use my home phone, I use the cell while going to the gig if I need to contact the person who hired us.

Moody, I'd love to try linux, but I have an on-line business writing aftermarket style and song data for Band-in-a-Box (a music auto-accompaniment app). I've done this as a sideline since 1992.


BiaB doesn't work on linux, and the method of writing styles works much better on Windows than Apple OS so Windows is what I use.

BTW, do the texts automatically backed up too?

It looks like I'm android 1.01 class

Bob

 

[Notes_Norton]

SOLVED (I think)

Thank you all for your help.

I couldn't back up my data. Smart Switch wouldn't let me back up to anything but another phone. Same for contacts. My wife got home from errands and said, "Let's take it in."

So I took it to the store where I bought it. The owner transferred the contacts to her test phone, restored my computer to it's original condition (as you suggested), and my contacts automatically reinstalled themselves.

I put the phone down, and hours later I picked it up and most of my apps also downloaded themselves, but as of yet, I haven't had an ad.

So I'm at least 99% confident that it's solved. Unless you hear from me again to the contrary it's OK now.

Thanks again for your help
Bob


PS I transferred a business line to this phone years ago. I chose MetroPCS because at the time they were the only ones with a flat-rate unlimited plan around here, and as a business, I get marketing calls all the time and didn't want to pay minutes for someone else's advertisements.

I went to a company store first and they wanted to sell me a phone but I wanted to check a store close to my home. It's a small business and I like small businesses.

So I went to Indian River Cellular, and asked. The owner said, "Wait a couple of months because Metro will be coming out with their first Android phones."

I waited and got an Android as soon as MetroPCS offered them. If I bought from the official "Metro Franchise Store" instead of an independent dealer, I would have bought a phone that went obsolete soon. The owner of Indian River Cellular did me right.

So she has had my loyal business ever since. Today she didn't even charge me for the tech help.

When I find someone who does business the way she does, I do my best to support it.

 

[Notes_Norton]

[Solved]

Possibly the final post. The phone slept all night and I woke it up this morning to a phone with no-ads barging in on me.

Last night I tweaked the settings back to where I like them on both the phone and the apps, I replaced the pictures that I dragged and dropped onto my computer before taking it in (and deleted more than a few), I imported both my old ringtone and alarm, I re-scanned with MalwareBytes and Lookout and I put it to bed on the charger.

Since all my apps are back on and I'm having no problem, I guess it was a drive-by download from a poisoned search result in Google (via SmartPage.com). I read that a text message with a picture could also insert a virus, but I don't recall opening any text with a picture, and I get very few texts.

I hope to not need a lesson in phones 1.01 again, and I thank everyone who came to my rescue with great advice.

Bob

 

[puppykickr]

[Solved]

Possibly the final post. The phone slept all night and I woke it up this morning to a phone with no-ads barging in on me.

Last night I tweaked the settings back to where I like them on both the phone and the apps, I replaced the pictures that I dragged and dropped onto my computer before taking it in (and deleted more than a few), I imported both my old ringtone and alarm, I re-scanned with MalwareBytes and Lookout and I put it to bed on the charger.

Since all my apps are back on and I'm having no problem, I guess it was a drive-by download from a poisoned search result in Google (via SmartPage.com). I read that a text message with a picture could also insert a virus, but I don't recall opening any text with a picture, and I get very few texts.

I hope to not need a lesson in phones 1.01 again, and I thank everyone who came to my rescue with great advice.

Bob

Hey, I know this is an old post and has been 'solved', but did you ever find out exactly what it was?

First off, I would ditch both Avast and LookOut (they were of no help by your own admission) and I would also ditch Malwarebytes also- as it didn't help either.

These apps run continuously, and can be detrimental to the functions of a device.

Anyway, I have seen symptoms as you described before, and found a solution that has worked for others as well.

Apps can leave files behind when uninstalled, and ads can hide there.

Also, apps can have a sneaky permission, called Download Apps Without Permission.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how bad that could be.

What has happened in my experience is that an unnamed app gets downloaded.
As the app has no name or icon, it does not show up in the app drawer or list, and malware finding apps can't see it either.

This 'invisible' app can be chock full of ad-ware, spyware, whatever.

The only way to find it is to go to:

Settings
Apps
(show system) (show all)

now scroll all the way to the bottom, and look for an unnamed app with no icon.

There will be a slot like the others, showing memory used, but no title.

Tap that, and the app info page shows the permissions, Uninstall/Force Stop options, etc.

This is where you tap Storage, and delete the data- then go back and uninstall the app.

Like I said, I know you got it fixed, but if it happens again try this first, and it can save you a whole lot of effort.

I even made a video about it a while back, showing how to know it is there (via a firewall), locate it, and get rid of it.

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

 

[Notes_Norton]

Thanks a lot. If it ever happens again, I'll be better prepared.

I ditched Avast, MalwareBytes is still on and I might just ditch that one too.

I checked and there are no un-named apps.

I don't use the phone that much for Internet, because I mostly work from home, and have access to a computer and a tablet. Bigger screens are a plus if they are available.

When I'm away from home, I'm usually with my wife, so there is no reason to surf the net. However if we are in a waiting room at the doctors (she was her mother-in-law's caregiver) or something, the phone might come out to relieve the boredom.

I probably got whatever it was clicking a google link to pass some idle time.

However it left my phone with a curious situation. Sometimes if an app wants to update, I have to put the phone in the safe mode or else it won't update. It will just sit there with the circle going around and around for hours.

It's no big deal. Most of the apps I don't even use (the Google and Samsung apps).

Bob

 

[MoodyBlues]

Apps can leave files behind when uninstalled, and ads can hide there.

Not if you clear both its cache and data prior to uninstalling an app. At least not in my experience. Of course, I only use paid apps, so there are no ads.

Also, apps can have a sneaky permission, called Download Apps Without Permission.

I've never seen that without having to approve its ability to do so; that generally occurs at the point of installation or the first time using an app.

 

[puppykickr]

Thanks a lot. If it ever happens again, I'll be better prepared.

I ditched Avast, MalwareBytes is still on and I might just ditch that one too.

I checked and there are no un-named apps.

I don't use the phone that much for Internet, because I mostly work from home, and have access to a computer and a tablet. Bigger screens are a plus if they are available.

When I'm away from home, I'm usually with my wife, so there is no reason to surf the net. However if we are in a waiting room at the doctors (she was her mother-in-law's caregiver) or something, the phone might come out to relieve the boredom.

I probably got whatever it was clicking a google link to pass some idle time.

However it left my phone with a curious situation. Sometimes if an app wants to update, I have to put the phone in the safe mode or else it won't update. It will just sit there with the circle going around and around for hours.

It's no big deal. Most of the apps I don't even use (the Google and Samsung apps).

Bob

Google has been having difficulty updating apps.

There is a remedy that usually works, although it is hit or miss as to whether or not you need to use it.

If you have not done so already, go into the settings on Google Play Store and turn 'Auto-Update Apps' off.

Close the app.

This will make life easier, and you shouldn't have to worry about an app suddenly becoming completely different from what it was the last time you used it.

Now you are in control.
Generally, I choose Saturday as my 'update day'.
Around noonish I check to see if there are updates available.

If so, I read recent reviews- to see if the new update is going over well.

If people don't like it, or the app has radically been changed, I don't bother until I can test it out on a different device, or another update fixes whatever people are complaining about.

Now, in your device settings, under Apps, you can find the 'show system' setting.

Choose that and then find Google Play Store.
Delete the cache from that app.

Now find Google Play Services and delete the cache for that one as well.

Now reopen Google Play Store and click on My Apps. (Top selection)

Try to update the app(s) that you want updated.

If you still get the 'spinning wheel of wait' then close the app and return to the device settings, and Apps once again.

Select Show System, and this time when you find Google Play Store and Google Play Services, delete the app data.

This is not as drastic as it seems.

Open the Google Play Store app again.

You now must go and reset all your app preferences inside this app, as the data is gone.

Don't forget to turn Auto-Update Apps off again.

Now wait about 5-10 minutes.

Google will download some stuff that was deleted.
Google Play Services may also.

After about 10 minutes try to update the app(s) again.

Now it should work.

If not, there is one more thing to try- but about 99% of the time the issue is resolved now, at least for a while.

Typically, if I update each Saturday, I have to go through the above procedure about once a month or so.

The last ditch effort is to remove all of the data and updates from Google Play Store and Google Play Services.
This is a bit of a pain, because afterwards you are back to square one on these two, like when you first got the phone.

So you open the Play Store, go to settings, and scroll down to Play Store version.

Tap that, and it will tell you that a new version of the Play Store will be downloaded and installed.

Tap ok.

Now it will do that, and you should immediately go and make your setting choices again (yes, again. I know, right? I hate Google!).

Somewhere around the 10 minute mark all the stuff Google needs to work will download automatically, and you should be able to update apps now.

Like I said, that is a last ditch effort.
But I have not had that fail to work yet, unless I didn't wait long enough.
There are pauses between some downloads, so it can be difficult to tell when it is done.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Oh, and the reason that you didn't find the 'invisable' app is because there isn't one.
You did say thst the ads do not appear anymore, correct?

I just included the info in case it ever happens to you again, or anyone else reading this thread.

The way that it happened to me was just like you described.

And to top it off, the ad-wear app came from some app that I had downloaded, and then uninstalled.
It did not take its 'little friend' with it when it was uninstalled.

That is one reason to always delete the data of an app before you uninstall it.

I don't know if that would've even helped in this case, as the ad-ware was in its own app.

But like I said, with no name or icon it is hard to find if you don't know how.

 

[puppykickr]

Not if you clear both its cache and data prior to uninstalling an app. At least not in my experience. Of course, I only use paid apps, so there are no ads.

I've never seen that without having to approve its ability to do so; that generally occurs at the point of installation or the first time using an app.

The older OS didn't really give much choice as to permissions.

Either you wanted the app or not.

And there was always a caviot, 'Some permissions are not listed. Please check your app settings.'

Also, Brave has the same permission.
Did it tell you that when (if?) you installed it?

I know that I wasn't notified.
Funny, they don't mention it anywhere.

And 'files left behind' could include any apps or things downloaded without your knowlege and then stored somewhere else.

Such as with an app, that has its own data and cache.

Deleting the data and cache, then uninstalling the app that downloaded that app will not uninstall the app it doenloaded or delete its data.

Simply, if I use UpToDown to download an app, then delete the data and uninstall UpToDown- the app that I downloaded from UpToDown and its data remain.

That is exactly how this happened to me.

I downloaded an app (I don't remember what or where from), that at some point downloaded another app (without my knowledge or permission) that contained ad-ware just as OP described.

After I ditched the 'parent' app, the ad-ware app remained.

It was only out of sheer luck that I found it.
After I looked up a description of an unnamed app with no icon, I realized that this was most likely some junk that I did not want.

After it was gone, the ads stopped.

And I have told many others about this, and it has saved them from the 'factory reset' that always seems to be the default answer to the unknown.

As I have always (knock on wood) found a solution, I have never, ever done a factory reset.

Starting all over is one of my pet peeves, it really gets to me.

It is a large reason of why it took me so many years to get online- computers seem to relish making people spend inordinate amounts of time to do anything, and then crash or fail somehow and all that work is a waste.
And now you get to start all over.

Yeah, Homey don't plat dat.
(I miss that show.)

If Android made me start over like a normal computer, I never would have gotten into it at all.

 

[MoodyBlues]

It is a large reason of why it took me so many years to get online- computers seem to relish making people spend inordinate amounts of time to do anything, and then crash or fail somehow and all that work is a waste.
And now you get to start all over.

In my 35 years of using computers, I've never dealt with any of that crap--the crap window$ users really believe is just a normal part of using computers.

In the *nix world (UNIX and Linux), that bullshit simply does not exist--and I can't imagine how or why people put up with it in the micro$oft world. It truly amazes me.

As for apps leaving bits and pieces of garbage behind, all I can say is that it's never happened to me, in ten years of using Android. *shrug*

 

[maire5]

In the recent past I abandoned an android phone when a reset did not fix this problem. The phone’s battery kept degrading and the adware/malware pretty much made the phone unusable. I stumbled across an article that said this was a major problem with these phones (Blu) manufactured in China with built-in malware. Blu was forced by the government to deal with the problem but even after sanctions, it was reported that Blu phones were still being produced with the malware onboard. I am very naive about my devices. I currently have a windows computer with problems that is driving me crazy. Since I need to use it to produce personal word processing, I am very tempted to hunt down an old fashioned electronic typewriter, if those are still made, as I can’t afford to keep buying a new computer every time one goes bonkers on me. Very frustrating.

 

[Notes_Norton]

Lots of good advice there. I'm going to bookmark this thread for future reference.

And I'm going to do manual updates. I don't have that many so it should be no problem. The only reason my first screen is full of icons is because I have a couple of short-cut/alias links to a couple of my own web pages. When I'm out and someone asks if I am booked on a certain date, one-click is better than opening the browser first, then the site, then the link.

I go for paid apps rather than adware. A few bucks is worth it to me.

For home computing I can't "nix" Windows. I have a business writing aftermarket styles and song files for the auto-accompaniment app Band-in-a-Box. It's about 1/4 my income. BiaB doesn't do linux, and the mac version of the app is lame in the creation of styles function (not the mac's fault).

Probably the reason why I'm so phone challenged is that I really don't use it much. I have a couple of computers at a tablet at hand most of the time. At home I have a land line. It's more reliable in this poor signal area. When I go out, I don't always even bring my phone, only if I think I'm going to need it.

I use the tablet for couch surfing and not much else.

Bob

 

[MoodyBlues]

For home computing I can't "nix" Windows.

Are you sure?

I have a business writing aftermarket styles and song files for the auto-accompaniment app Band-in-a-Box. It's about 1/4 my income. BiaB doesn't do linux

You're guilty of a very common mistake...misunderstanding...well, something! It's not [necessarily] whether there's a Linux version of a program, but whether there's a Linux program that does the same thing. For example, people think they can't live without M$ Word--then they find native Linux equivalents--of which there are many, and that's the end of that.

So my question wouldn't be 'does Band-in-a-Box run on Linux?' but, 'is there a Linux program that has the same functionality you need as Band-in-a-Box?'

At home I have a land line. It's more reliable in this poor signal area.

*Waves at fellow landline owner!* I can't/won't get rid of my landline because of unreliable cell service at home. Plus, I LIKE crystal clear, no choppiness or dead spots, reliable connections! (I don't like the bill, but that's for another thread.)

Edit: a quick search yielded a ton of results for Band-in-a-Box Linux alternatives.

Peafowl, flowers & other stuff in my yard!
-----
Is it "it's" or "its"?
​

 

[MoodyBlues]

I currently have a windows computer with problems that is driving me crazy.

One word: Linux.

Wipe that nasty, bloated virus off your computer and install the beautiful, infinitely customizable, stable
Kubuntu Linux, for a glimpse of what you're missing. What you won't miss: constant crashes, viruses, constant rebooting, buying/keeping updated anti-virus protection, lack of security, and all the other garbage that's a normal part of using window$.

Since I need to use it to produce personal word processing, I am very tempted to hunt down an old fashioned electronic typewriter

No need to do that! Kubuntu [or any other Linux distribution] will have numerous word processors installable with a click or two.

Peafowl, flowers, other stuff in my yard!
-----
Is it "it's" or "its"?
​

 

[Notes_Norton]

Band-in-a-Box does not run on Linux - only Windows and Mac. The alternatives won't use the Band-in-a-Box formatted styles and don't have the user base that BiaB has.

I've done for-hire work making styles for a couple of other auto-play software and software/hardware companies, and from what I've seen, Band-in-a-Box is far more musical than the others.

The BiaB files work on both Windows and Mac versions of BiaB.

If they ever did a Linux version, the "StyleMaker" app would probably be as lame as it is on the Mac. I repeat, not the OS's fault. The market is predominantly Windows. Over 90% of my customers use Windows.

I have customers in over 100 different countries that rely on my work and since the best results are made with the Windows app, I'm predominantly a Windows guy.

I'm not complaining, I just let the software decide which OS I'm going to use. I went from Atari to Mac (in the Motorola days) to Windows (in the 3.1 days). It's been good to me.

And Peter Gannon of PG Music (the creators of Band-in-a-Box) has actually been very helpful to me.

Notes

 

[MoodyBlues]

Band-in-a-Box does not run on Linux - only Windows and Mac.

Yes, I know, that's why I explained what the question should be.

The alternatives won't use the Band-in-a-Box formatted styles

Really? That's odd. Usually, when there's a Linux alternative for a well-known window$ program, it can read/write the windows program's files. That's usually one of its selling points, and what convinces a person they can switch.

Ultimately, it's your choice, of course. If you're happy using windows--and all that entails, it's none of my business! I merely point out that there's a superior alternative because I can't fathom dealing with not only an inferior/insecure OS, but one that has the plethora of crap that goes along with using it!

 

[Notes_Norton]

Moody Blues, it's about the money.

I can write music, and sell it to a market of Band-in-a-Box users on the Windows and Mac platforms. BiaB is the big fish in the auto-accompaniment pond. It has more market share than all the others combined.

Life is full of compromises.

I don't particularly like or dislike Windows, it's just a tool to get what I want done.

Notes

 

[MoodyBlues]

Whatever works best for you, Notes_Norton!

My personal experience with windows was hair-pulling, rage-inducing, mind-numbingly awful. Compared to what I was used to--the powerful built-in tools, the blazingly fast speed, the security, the versatility, the infinite customizability, the beauty and elegance--of Linux, I couldn't stand it. Thankfully I only had a handful of windows boxes to administer...or I'd have lost my mind!

 

[Notes_Norton]

Yep, whatever tool suits you best.

I really haven't had much trouble with Windows. My main profession is playing music, and my sax and guitar have their own maintenance issues. But I just take care of them as needed and try to prevent or prepare for equipment disasters.

Notes