How to Find and Locate Spyware On Android
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- By David Lukic
- Oct 14, 2020
The idea of personal privacy and security is a fallacy these days. There is nowhere safe from hackers, as evidenced by the daily news of data breaches. Many of us falsely believe that our cell phones are exempt from hacking, spyware, ransomware, and viruses; nothing could be further from the truth, which is why spyware removal is considered to be very important!
The Android platform is very popular in America and even more so in Europe and other countries. It is noted for its clean design, customization abilities, and ease of use. However, like any other operating system, Android is vulnerable to hacking, malicious programs, and spyware. Since most of us have our entire lives stored on our cell phones, including access to bank accounts, contacts, photos, and other personal or sensitive data, it is critical that they remain safe at all times.
No one likes to think that someone is spying on them, whether it is the government, the local hacker or a spouse. One way that people stay safe when using mobile devices is with a VPN. These Virtual Private Networks mask your location and online activities so that no one can trace it back to you and makes it difficult to locate spyware on android.
How to Locate Spyware On Android
If you wake up one morning and your home page settings on your Android browser have changed, you may have spyware. If you see a lot of pop-ups and suspicious browser activity like redirects, your Android device is probably infected with Adware. If this is the case for you, you should without hesitation search how to find spyware on android and try to fix the problem.
Some other signs you might have spyware are a fast battery drain. You may hear strange noises during phone calls. Another sign is that the phone randomly reboots or shuts down for no reason. If your data usage mysteriously increases or you receive unusual text messages, those are other signs of a spyware infection. If your phone makes noise when it is not in use or slow to respond when using it, these are also some signs of an infection. If all of this is happening to you, do not worry, continue reading this article for spyware removal and to learn how to find hidden spyware on android.
How to Remove Spyware From Android Phone
How to Check For Spyware
Spyware is much more dangerous because it monitors your activities and can access all your personal and private data on your phone, including eavesdropping on your SMS and MMS messages.
Sometimes an employer will install a form of spyware on your phone. Other times it might be a parent wanting to monitor your whereabouts or a romantic partner who suspects you of cheating. You may also unwittingly download spyware from an infected website and not even know it; now, a stranger has access to all your stuff, and can use your information for identity theft. Spyware removal is considerably more difficult compared to other malware, but this does not mean there is no solution for it.
Types of Spyware on Android
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Although relatively new, PhoneSpector is a powerful spying app that hackers may use to monitor all areas of the phone, and it can even restore deleted text messages.
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Auto Forward is easy to use for the non-tech user who wants to monitor someone’s activities like a mother with her teenage children.
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Highster Mobile has apps for both Android and iPhone, and it is powerful and excels at tracking browser history and text messages.
These are just some of the apps available on the Google Play store and private download sites. It may be hard to tell that you are being monitored because many of these programs work silently in the background.
How to Detect Spyware on Android Phone
If you find that your Android device starts acting strangely or buggy, you may be infected with spyware. It is actually not that difficult to discover and remove spyware from your Android device. If you recently downloaded any files, images, etc. try deleting them first to see if it restores the phone to working order.
Use a file manager to inspect the Apps folder and look for any files you do not recognize and delete them immediately.
How to Remove Spyware From Phone
You can check for installed spyware programs by following the steps below:
- Go to Settings.
- Choose Apps or Applications.
- Click the three vertical dots menu.
- Click “Show System Apps” to show all installed programs.
- Review all the programs, and if you find any that you do not recognize, investigate what they do and what they are for. Uninstall anything you feel uncomfortable about.
Check your download folder for any suspicious-looking files. If, after taking the steps above, you don’t feel secure enough that you got it all, you can install a spyware cleaner from a reputable source and use that. It is always a good idea to keep a security program like Avast, Bitdefender, or Kaspersky running on your Android device at all times to keep the hackers out. You might also consider a VPN to tighten the security on your Android phone and enhance your privacy that way.