Not sure if your iPhone has a virus? While it's hard for an iOS device to get infected with malware, it's not impossible. Here's how to remove viruses from iPhone or iPad. Although the urban legend says that the iPhone or iPad is not infected with viruses, unfortunately your iOS device can be infected with malware, which is why you are interested in how to remove a virus on iPhone or iPad, in order to be able to reuse your device Apple normally.
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You may think your iPhone is infected when, for example, you start seeing ads from unwanted sites or when you get a warning that you should download a specific application to be able to clean your phone. In any case, if your iOS device has acquired an annoying virus or malware, you will need to remove it. Read on to find out how.
How to know if my iPhone has a virus
Technically speaking, a virus is a type of malicious code that is automatically inserted into another program, while a Trojan is a malware that you will initially see as a harmless program, but once run, it will infect your computer.
There are many iOS applications that have undergone the insertion of malicious codes. Although apps with malware should, in theory, be caught in their approval stage before appearing in the App Store, apps from other sources are installed on many phones and some malicious apps are installed with them.
iOS usually avoids malware attacks through a system that prevents the virus from accessing other applications and spreading to the operating system.
If your iPhone or iPad isn't working normally, ask yourself the following questions:
- Did you jailbreak your device? If your answer is yes, have you installed an application from unofficial sources? If you answer yes, you surely have malicious software on your iPhone or iPad.
- Does your phone only do weird things when you use specific applications? If your iPhone is behaving strangely when using an application, the problem probably stems from this application. If so, the phone will send you to weird web pages in Safari or open the App Store without your permission.
If your iPhone or iPad is behaving strangely all the time, regardless of whether or not you access a specific application, it is probably due to a hardware problem. It is very unlikely that malware has penetrated the heart of the operating system.
Is it an application causing problems on your iPhone or iPad?
As we explained above, you may have installed a problematic app instead of a virus.
This does not necessarily mean that it is an application created intentionally as a malicious app, since many apps created by legitimate companies end up being "hijacked" and infected by malware or hackers.
Since hackers have a hard time accessing an iOS device, one of their most common strategies is based on cracking the development code. This way, hackers have the ability to redirect websites of dubious legitimacy every time the infected application is used.
If you think this is the case for you, we recommend that you take a look to see if there are any updates for the application, as the problem may have been fixed and corrected with the update.
Another tip is to visit the official application site or the developers' Twitter feed to see if they have been officially notified of the problem. If there are ways to contact the app developers, do so. They may be able to offer a solution, and in case they can't, they can at least work on it.
In case the update doesn't fix the problem, uninstall the app. If the problem goes away, you will have found the culprit. Here are some tips that can help get the virus gone from your iPhone or iPad.
1. Clear history and website data on your iPhone
This trick can help you solve the problem of being continuously redirected to malicious web pages without your permission. Go up "Settings> Safari> Clear history and website data". Tapping on "Delete" will delete the history, cookies and other navigation information.
2. Turn off and reset your iPhone or iPad
Press and hold the power button until the screen changes and the power off bar appears. Swipe right to turn off your phone. To reset the iPhone or iPad, press the power button again. The Apple logo will appear. Wait until the password prompt is displayed.
3. Restore your iPhone to the latest backup
If you back up your iPhone or iPad often, it will be very easy to restore your iOS device to the last copy made. If that doesn't work, it means that the malware was already installed on the last copy you created. Restore to an even older copy. If you are lucky you can find a backup that was made before the date the malware was installed on your iPhone or iPad.
4. Restore your iPhone to factory settings
If you don't find any malware-free backup, it's best to start from scratch, which is to restore default settings on your iPhone. To do this, go up “Settings> General> Reset> Delete all contents and settings”. You will need to enter your password to confirm the process. Once complete, boot your iPhone or iPad as a new device. The next step will be to reinstall the applications you use the most and reconfigure the device according to your preferences.
How to protect your iPhone from malware
Update iOS regularly. We advise you not to jailbreak, and if you do, pay attention to the software you decide to install and the sites from which you decide to download them. Finally, never open links that you are unsure of, often such malicious links are a way to allow malware and viruses to enter iOS devices.
