If your Samsung phone slows down, your screen is inundated with annoying ads, your browser settings change, or there’s a weird increase in your phone’s Internet activity, then it is possible that you have malware installed on your device. This guide teaches you how to remove malicious apps from a Samsung phone by following easy step-by-step instructions.
Table of Contents
- Can a Samsung phone get infected with malware?
- How did my Samsung phone get infected with malware?
- How to remove Malware from Samsung phone (Virus Removal Guide)
Can a Samsung phone get infected with malware?
Adware, browser hijackers, and other malicious apps are these days able to infect your Samsung phone. When a malicious app is installed on your phone, unwanted advertisements will pop up or your browser homepage and the search engine will be modified without your consent.
Here are a few typical signs that you have adware installed on your Samsung phone:
- Advertisements appear in places they shouldn’t be.
- Your web browser’s homepage has mysteriously changed without your permission.
- Web pages that you typically visit are not displaying properly.
- Website links redirect to sites different from what you expected.
- Browser popups appear which recommend fake updates or other software.
- Other unwanted apps might get installed without your knowledge.
When a Samsung phone is infected with malware, you may notice poor device performance, a battery that drains much quickly, unexplained data usage, or apps that unexpectedly crash. You should keep in mind that some of these symptoms can just mean your device is simply overloaded with junk.
How did my Samsung phone get infected with malware?
Malicious apps such as adware or browser hijacker are installed by the users, whether that is knowingly or not. The key thing to remember about malware is that you have to actually install the malicious app. Malware writers will use increasingly clever techniques to try and trick you into doing just that.
As malware writers try to earn money for their bad deeds, they continually look for new ways to get their malicious software installed on your phone. The best recommendation is still to think twice before installing untrusted software or clicking on strange-looking links.
When downloading apps it’s recommended that you only do so from a legitimate app store such as the Google Play Store, Samsung Store, or another major manufacturer. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.
To remove malicious apps from your Samsung device, you can use the free malware removal guide below.
How to remove Malware from Samsung phone (Virus Removal Guide)
This malware removal guide may appear overwhelming due to the number of steps and numerous programs that are being used. We have only written it this way to provide clear, detailed, and easy-to-understand instructions that anyone can use to remove malware for free.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubts at any point, stop and ask for our assistance.
To remove all types of malware from your Samsung phone, follow these steps:
- STEP 1: Remove malicious device admin apps from your Samsung phone
- STEP 2: Uninstall the malicious apps from your Samsung phone
- STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes to remove adware and other malicious apps
- STEP 4: Reset your browser settings to remove pop-ups and redirects
STEP 1: Remove malicious device admin apps from your Samsung phone
In this first step, we will check the phone to see if there are any malicious apps with administrator privileges installed on your phone.
The administrator privileges are used by apps to perform legitimate tasks such as device management or for antivirus apps to do a remote wipe. Unfortunately, these elevated privileges are also being used by malicious apps to prevent victims from removing the malicious app from the phone.
Open the “Settings” menu.
Tap on the “Settings” app from your phone menu or home screen.
Go to “Device admin apps”.
When the “Settings” menu opens, if you’re using a newer version of Samsung or a Samsung phone, tap on “Biometrics and Security“, then tap on “Other Security Settings” and then on “Device admin apps“.
However, because there are phones with different versions of Samsung the “Device admins apps” settings may be in a different menu, so below we’ve listed other common ways to reach the “Device admin apps” options:
- Security > Device admin apps
- Security & privacy > Device admin apps
- Security > Device Administrators
- Lock Screen and Security > Other Security Settings > Phone Administrators.
If you’re having trouble finding the “Device admin apps” settings, you can use your phone’s built-in search function to search through the Settings.
Disable administrator privileges for the malicious app.
Once you’ve accessed the list of device admin apps, disable admin rights by tapping the option to the right of the app. This will remove the checkmark or toggle the button to the off position. Now you can delete the app normally as seen in the below step. On some phones, you can tap the app right there in the admin apps list and then use the Uninstall app link to remove it immediately.
If there is no malicious app with administrator privileges on your phone, then you can continue with the next step from this guide.
STEP 2: Uninstall the malicious apps from your Samsung phone
In this second step, we will check if any malicious apps are installed on your Samsung phone. Sometimes browser hijackers or adware apps can have usable Uninstall entries that can be used to remove these apps.
Open the “Settings” menu.
Tap on the “Settings” app from your phone menu or home screen.
Tap on “Apps”.
When the “Settings” menu opens, tap on “Apps” (or “App Manager”) to see all the installed applications on your phone.
Find the malicious app.
The “Apps” screen will be displayed with a list of all the applications that are installed on your phone. Scroll through the list until you find the malicious app. Look out for any suspicious app that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. Most often, cybercriminals hide malware inside the video or photo editing apps, weather apps, and camera apps.
Here are some known malicious apps: ES File Explorer, Xender, Amber Weather Widget, GO Weather Forecast & Widgets, Kitty Play, Touchpal, Z Camera.
The malicious program will most likely have a different name on your phone. If you cannot find any malicious app on your device, you can exit “Safe mode” (as seen below) and continue with the next step from this guide.
Uninstall the malicious app
When you find a suspicious or malicious app, tap on it to uninstall it. This won’t start the app but will open up the app details screen. If the app is currently running press the “Force stop” button, then tap on “Uninstall”.
A confirmation dialog should be displayed to confirm you want to uninstall the app, tap on “OK” to remove the malicious app from your phone.
STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes to remove adware and other malicious apps
In this third step, we will install Malwarebytes to scan your phone for malicious apps and files. Malwarebytes Free is one of the most popular and most used anti-malware software for Windows, and for good reasons. It is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss, without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected phone, Malwarebytes has always been free and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.
Download Malwarebytes for Android.
You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.
MALWAREBYTES DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes for Android)Install Malwarebytes on your phone
In the Google Play Store, tap “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your device.
When the installation process has finished, tap “Open” to begin using Malwarebytes for Android. You can also open Malwarebytes by tapping on its icon in your phone menu or home screen.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the setup process
When the Malwarebytes will open, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through a series of permissions and other setup options.
This is the first of two screens which explain the difference between the Premium and Free version. Swipe this screen to continue.
Tap on “Got it” to proceed to the next step.
Malwarebytes for Android will now ask for a set of permissions that are required to scan your device and protect it from malware. Tap on “Give permission” to continue.
Tap on “Allow” to give permission to Malwarebytes to access the files on your phone.Update database and run a scan with Malwarebytes
You will now be prompted to update the Malwarebytes database and run a full system scan.
Click on “Update database” to update the Malwarebytes definitions to the latest version, then click on “Run full scan” to perform a system scan.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now start scanning your phone for adware and other malicious apps. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Click on “Remove Selected”.
When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malicious apps that Malwarebytes has found, tap on the “Remove Selected” button.
Restart your phone.
Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious apps that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your device.
STEP 4: Reset your browser settings to remove pop-ups and redirects
If your phone is still redirected to unwanted sites or you see pop-up ads, we will need to reset the web browser settings to their original defaults.
This step should be performed only if the issues have not been solved by the previous steps.
Resetting the browser settings to their default it’s an easy task on Windows or Mac computers; however, when it comes to Android, this can’t be done directly because it’s not an option built-in into the browser settings. Restoring the browser settings on Android can be done by clearing the application data. This will remove all the cookies, cache, and other site settings that may have been saved. So let’s see how we can restore your browser to its factory settings.
ChromeFirefoxOperaBraveSamsung Internet BrowserUC BrowserMicrosoft Edge
Remove adware and pop-up ads from Google Chrome
To reset the Chrome browser to its default settings, follow the below steps:
Open the “Settings” menu.
Tap on the “Settings” app from your phone menu or home screen.
Tap on “Apps”.
When the “Settings” menu opens, tap on “Apps” (or “App Manager”) to see all the installed applications on your phone.
Find and tap on Chrome.
The “Apps” screen will be displayed with a list of all the apps installed on your phone. Scroll through the list until you find the Chrome app, then tap on it to open the apps details.
Tap “Storage”.
When the Chrome’s app info menu is displayed, tap on “Storage“.
Tap “Manage Space”.
Under the storage settings, you will get two options — Manage Space and Clear Cache. Tap on “Manage Space“.
Tap “Clear all data”.
Tap “Clear all data” to delete all Chrome’s data including accounts, bookmarks and your settings in order to reset the default settings.
Confirm by tapping “Ok”.
A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue on with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, tap “Ok“.
How do I get rid of a virus on my Samsung phone?
Here are a few steps you can take to clean your phone from viruses:.Uninstall any unrecognised apps. Access Safe mode on your Galaxy device to determine any apps that are operated by a third party and may therefore be malicious using the steps below: ... .Delete your browser cache. ... .Perform a Factory reset..How do I wipe viruses off my phone?
How to remove a virus from an Android phone.Clear your cache and downloads. Open Settings, go to Apps & notifications, and select Chrome. ... .Restart your Android device in safe mode. ... .Find and remove malicious apps. ... .Activate Google Play Protect. ... .Install anti-malware software..Does Samsung have built in antivirus?
Samsung Knox provides another layer of protection, both for separating work and personal data, and for protecting the operating system from manipulation. This, combined with a modern antivirus solution, can go a long way toward limiting the impact of these expanding malware threats.How do I check my phone for viruses?
To run a virus scan on your Android phone, you'll need to download a mobile security software app . Most phones don't come with one installed. Android is an open-source platform, so there are many options for virus scanners, including McAfee Mobile Security.