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Unrequested App Installs

K

kevinmg

Lurker
Hi,

My phone keeps downloading and installing "Game Centre" and "Baidu Browser" without asking any permissions or me initiating the download.

Is there a way to block these apps from downloading - uninstalling works but an hour later they just download again.

Phone is a Chinese iDream 7" phablet running Android 4.2.2
 
You might want to download some type of antivirus or malware app just to see what is initially causing these downloads.

Malwarebytes or AVG are both good decisions. :)
 
Installed MalwareBytes and it comes up that everything is clean.

My only thought is that possibly as its a Chinese handset maybe they have built these downloads into the OS as even removing my Google account doesn't stop them downloading.
 
kevinmg said:
Installed MalwareBytes and it comes up that everything is clean.

My only thought is that possibly as its a Chinese handset maybe they have built these downloads into the OS as even removing my Google account doesn't stop them downloading.
Click to expand...

Well you should be able to turn off auto-updates, this might stop them from pushing through.
 
It's possible that something else you installed is doing it, have you installed anything from "unofficial" sources?

On a sideways thought: can you disable the unwanted app(s) rather than uninstalling them? That way they won't be able to reinstall but won't trouble you either :-)

Can't remember if 4.2.2 has a "disable" option - if it's there you'll find it under Settings>Apps>(select app) and there may be a "DISABLE" button along with the "UNINSTALL". Worth a look.
 
You may wish to make sure that the option at Settings > Security > Unknown Sources is unchecked for good measure. :thumbup:
 
Is it a Chinese phone intended for China, it could be something pre-installed that's doing it. Baidu browser is something that's installed on many devices here, in the absence of Chrome, Play, etc. Same thing for "Game center" .
 
Go into Settings/Security/Device Administrators and see if anything there looks out of place.

I would think something that can download and install apps would require administrator rights.
 
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