Cybercrime is a growing problem: millions of phones are regularly hacked, and the first signs of such a hack are often difficult to immediately recognize. In this article, we will tell how to fix a hacked Android phone.
Android: how to find out that your phone has been hacked?
In today’s digital age, mobile phones are rapidly replacing computers. Reading the news about hacked accounts and “leaked” passwords, most people in their hearts are sure that none of this will ever happen to them. But in practice, no one is safe from password theft or hacking attempts.
Our phone or chat rooms often contain personal information that attackers can use for their purposes. For example, card numbers, access to online banks, home addresses, or work correspondence. It is easy to get logins and passwords for applications with a smartphone in hand because they are often sent by SMS. And scammers can find out about your elderly relatives and deceive them using all known information.
Phones with the popular Android operating system are often easy prey for attackers. Devices with this open operating system quickly get unauthorized programs from questionable sources. Even apps from a trusted Google Play store aren’t always safe.
Typical signs of a broken android comprise:
- Your smartphone will be slower than usual. If your phone has malware running in the background, your phone will run slower than usual. It will also affect the performance of trusted apps on your phone and may also affect your phone’s network connectivity. So, this malware can hinder your phone’s performance and can degrade the quality of apps on your phone.
- Your phone sends and receives messages on its own. If your friends receive strange or offensive messages, it means that someone else is doing this through your phone, causing unnecessary trouble for you. Hackers can also try to steal information from your phone using unsolicited messages.
- You may find new applications on your phone that you have not installed. Your phone manufacturer or network service provider may install applications and updates to your phone from time to time. However, if you suddenly discover some new applications on your phone, they may be from malicious sources on the Internet that want to hack your phone and misuse it.
How to protect your phone from hacking: prevention
The following steps will help you protect yourself from a hacker attack:
- Turn off Bluetooth on your device when you are not using it. This will make it harder for hackers to access your mobile phone;
- Have you installed the latest software updates? Regularly update your applications to the latest version;
- Set access blocking for third-party content providers to avoid hidden subscriptions;
- Do not open phishing messages or messages that seem strange to you;
- Control the use of data by your applications.
How to fix a hacked phone?
There is the following algorithm of actions to fix your android:
- If you receive an email with a URL and don’t see the full link, don’t click on it;
- When logging into your account, do not click on the “remember passwords” function;
- Change passwords from your computer on all services that you have access to on your phone – social networks, mail, important services with personal information;
- Disable the Wi-Fi feature, which automatically connects your phone to the nearest Wi-Fi network without asking you before connecting. Connect Wi-Fi manually;
- It would be best not to conduct any banking transactions over public Wi-Fi networks and, if possible, completely avoid using public Wi-Fi networks;
- Install your antivirus and use your password or pattern to unlock your phone.