By Staff [MANDATORY] Preparation Guide Before Requesting Mobile Malware Removal Help (Android & iPhone)

[Jack]

The quickest way to get help: Get help wizard
Choose Android or iPhone / iPad. The wizard asks the questions below step by step, takes your screenshots and opens your topic for you. The checklist in this guide stays here for reference.

Welcome to the MalwareTips Mobile Malware Removal forum. Here we help with unwanted apps, adware, pop-ups, browser hijackers, fake "virus found" alerts, stalkerware and suspected hacks on Android phones and tablets and on iPhone / iPad.

Please also read the Malware Removal Assistance rules. The same rules apply here.

Please be aware

• You are helped by volunteers in their free time, at no cost to you. Please be patient.
• Phones have no scanner that produces a full log like FRST does on Windows. Your description and screenshots are the evidence, so the more precise they are, the faster we can help.
• We do not help with work or school phones managed by an organization. Contact your IT department instead.
• If you think someone you know installed spyware on your phone and you could be in danger, think about your safety first. Removing an app or changing a password can alert that person. Contact a local domestic-abuse or technology-safety service, or the police if you are in immediate danger.

Do this first​

• Don't tap any more "update", "clean" or "virus found" pop-ups, and don't install apps or APK files that a pop-up, message or caller tells you to install.
• If accounts may be compromised, change passwords from another device you trust, starting with your email account. Then sign out all other sessions and turn on two-factor authentication.
• Don't factory-reset yet unless you have to. Take the screenshots below first, because they tell us what happened.

Android: what to include​

1. Phone model and Android version (Settings → About phone).
2. Where the problem shows: full-screen ads, notifications, the browser, the home screen, an app you can't uninstall, and so on. Include a screenshot of the pop-up or notification. Long-press the notification and tap the gear icon to see which app sends it.
3. Google Play Protect: open Play Store → profile picture → Play Protect, and screenshot the result.
4. Recently installed apps: Play Store → profile picture → Manage apps & device → Manage → sort by "Recently updated". Screenshot the list. Also list any app you installed from outside the Play Store (APK).
5. Device admin apps: Settings → Security (or Biometrics and security / Security & privacy) → Device admin apps. Screenshot the list.
6. Accessibility: Settings → Accessibility → Installed apps (or Downloaded apps). Screenshot which apps are turned on.
7. VPN and Private DNS: Settings → Network & internet (or Connections → More connection settings). Tell us whether a VPN or Private DNS is set, and by which app.
8. Home app: if your home screen changed, go to Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app and tell us which one is selected.

iPhone / iPad: what to include​

1. Model and iOS / iPadOS version (Settings → General → About).
2. Where the problem shows: Safari pop-ups, calendar invitations full of ads, notifications, unknown purchases, and so on. Include a screenshot.
3. VPN & Device Management: Settings → General → VPN & Device Management. Screenshot it, including any profile listed there.
4. Calendar subscriptions: Settings → Apps → Calendar → Calendar Accounts (on older iOS: Settings → Calendar → Accounts). Tell us whether there is any "Subscribed Calendar" you didn't add.
5. Safari: Settings → Apps → Safari → Extensions. Screenshot which extensions are on.
6. Apple Account: Settings → your name → scroll down to the list of devices. Tell us whether there is any device you don't recognize.
7. Whether the phone is jailbroken, or whether you installed apps from outside the App Store.

Open your topic​

Click Post thread in Mobile Malware Removal Help & Support. Use a clear title: device plus main symptom, for example "Samsung A16 - full-screen ads after installing a PDF app". In your message, write:

• what happens, and since when (date)
• what you installed, tapped or allowed just before it started
• what you already tried

Then attach the screenshots from the list above. Before posting, cover any phone number, email address or account name in them.

Get notified when someone replies​

Open Account → Preferences. Tick Automatically watch content you create... and ...and receive email notifications, then click Save.

Please reply within 3 days, even if only to say you need more time. Follow instructions only from the authorized helpers listed in the rules.