True or false: You need antivirus protection for your phone
Ah, the wide world of tech myths. I’ve heard ‘em all:
Macs are immune to viruses. Stick a wet phone in rice and it’ll be as good as new. Always run your battery down to 0% before you charge.
Another that persists? You can’t get a virus on your phone.
You’re reading this on my website, so I hope by now you realize your phone is a huge target. Think about it — it’s just a mini computer.
Let’s dig deeper into what this stuff looks like and where it comes from.
Red flags your phone is infected
The signs vary depending on what your device is infected with, of course. But all these symptoms spell trouble:
- You see a big spike in data usage.
- Your phone is slower than usual and your apps are crashing.
- Pop-ups appear out of nowhere, in one app or across all of them.
- Your battery is draining faster than usual.
- Your phone is hot more often or even overheats.
- You see odd charges on your phone bill you don’t remember signing up for.
OK, how’d that happen?
Malware, adware, spyware and all the other types of malicious software generally come from a few places.
🔗 You clicked on a malicious link that arrived through a phishing email, text, messaging or social media app, or spoofed website. Security 101: Never click on links or open attachments in unsolicited messages.
📲 You downloaded a bad app. Scammers are good at creating fraudulent apps that look like the real thing. While these can end up in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, they’re most often distributed through third-party app sites. Only download apps from official app stores, please and thank you!
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