Credit: Paktales
Is your Android smartphone playing up? Maybe it’s running sluggishly all of a sudden, perhaps popping up ads here and there, or just being randomly a bit weird. It may be because you have a problem with malware, or a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP).
So, how to clean your smartphone, what are the best malware removal on Android?
It’s simple: grab yourself an anti-malware tool and it won’t take long to install the app, get it going and run a scan. In this guide, we will take you through the process of cleaning the house and getting rid of any potential malware on your Android device, with clear and concise explanations in a step-by-step fashion. Also, you can see – how to reset an iPad
- Read your Guide – How to fix Ghost Touch on iPhone
- Read your Guide – How to Install Windows 11
- How to Fix Them – Windows 11 Common Installation Problems
How to Clean your Smartphone: Malware Removal on Android
- Install good anti-malware software on your device
- Setup Malwarebytes
- Scanning Malware
- Scanning in progress
- Results
- A thread has been found
- All done – but keep an eye out for ‘critical issues’ as well
1. Install good anti-malware software on your device
First things first, you’ll need a specialist piece of software to root out and destroy any malware which might have infected your smartphone – malware detection and removal is not something that can be done manually.
If you already have an anti-malware app installed, then all is well and good, of course, you can use that. However, if not, then you want to use one of the top tools available.
Note that before you install your new tool and embark on a seek and destroy mission for malware, you may wish to back up your phone if you haven’t done so recently. This is something you should do regularly anyway.
2. Setup Malwarebytes
Credit: Malwarebytes
When you first open the app, press the ‘Get Started’ button, then provide Malwarebytes with the necessary permissions so it can scan your phone’s storage and system.
To do so, press ‘Give Permission,’ then ‘Allow,’ and you’ll be sent to a screen that informs you that you’re on a 30-day Premium trial. After that period has passed, you’ll be reverted to the basic free program (which has far less functionality: the freebie just allows you to check for malware on demand). You may upgrade to a premium membership by choosing ‘Buy Premium now’ if you wish.
3. Scanning Malware
Credit: Malwarebytes
You may now touch the blue ‘Scan your device’ button, however if you choose ‘Skip’ on the trial page, or choose to subscribe to Premium from there, you can start a scan from the app’s main menu — simply tap the huge green ‘Scan Now’ symbol in the middle of the screen.
4. Scanning in progress
Credit: Malwarebytes
The malware scan will take some time to complete. At the bottom of the screen, it’ll flash up the numerous apps and files that are being examined, with a progress bar above that displays how far along the procedure is.
While the initial scan may take 5 to 10 minutes, subsequent scans are usually under a minute.
5. Results
Credit: Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes will reveal the complete findings of the scan, including anything unusual that the app has found.
The app may have identified nothing at this stage, in which case your smartphone is in good health and you don’t need to do anything further.
However, if Malwarebytes has detected something suspicious, you will need to deal with it…
6. A thread has been found
Credit: Malwarebytes
If your smartphone has something terrible – or at least potentially harmful or undesired – it will be classified as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) or a piece of malware.
If it’s the latter, you may opt to delete it right away, which you’ll almost certainly want to do – unless you’re certain the file is legitimate, in which case you can disregard the app’s warning. Genuine files can occasionally be incorrectly classified as malware, which is known as a ‘false positive,’ but if you select ‘Ignore Always,’ the software will ignore the file and will never flag it again in scans.
When it comes to a PUP, which may be anything somewhat annoying like adware, you have two options: uninstall it or ignore it – or ‘Ignore Once,’ which will let it pass for now but will be highlighted again in your next malware check. The latter option is intended to allow you some time to research the PUP and determine if it seems to be dangerous or something you can safely ignore.
Keep in mind that these are mere ‘possibly’ unwanted entities, so there’s a better possibility that something in this group is relatively harmless. However, if you’re unsure about anything, it’s usually advisable to be extra careful, so come down on the side of removing.
7. All done – but keep an eye out for ‘critical issues’ as well
When you return to the main menu/dashboard once the scan is complete and you’ve done any required measures with any threats that were discovered, the app will also notify you if there are any other important issues with your device, aside from viruses.
There was one in our instance, specifically that the ‘draw over other applications’ permission was turned off, and we had to activate it for the app’s anti-ransomware protection to offer remedial instructions. You may either address individual issues by hitting the blue buttons that display next to the problem descriptions, or you can cure them all at once by pressing the red ‘Fix now’ button.Now you’re ready to go, and with the free version of Malwarebytes, which supports on-demand scans, you may maintain doing frequent malware scans in the future. Note that if you click to Settings > Scanning in the top-left menu of the dashboard, there’s an option for ‘Scheduled scans’ to automate them daily or on specific days of the week.
