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On regular everyday usage of your smartphone you are constantly at risk of malware attacks, so how can you tell if your phone has malware. This article will cover what malware are, how to identify them and how to get rid of them on our smartphones.
What Is Malware?
The word malware is got from two words, being “malicious software”, which in a way makes what it is less scary. These software programs are designed to attack systems, servers or networks for the sole purpose of causing damage. Designed to come in rather subtle looks, they trick unsuspecting users into activating them. Yes, there can be malicious software programs or malware on your smartphone and the effects of this software can be very catastrophic.
There are lots of malware out there and each has a specific purpose of a specific area of a system, network or server they attack. For this article, we will look into malware that is common to smartphones.
- Rooting: This malware roots your device hence unlocking the operating system giving it access to manipulate the device.
- Adware: This simply supplies your smartphone with random ads in form of pop-ups aimed at redirecting users to an attached link (website) which holds malicious content.
- Ransomware: This malware aims to demand money for the device owner as payment or a Ransom for certain important files held hostage.
- SMS malware: This malware intercepts SMS messages resulting in outrageous charges without the knowledge of the device owner.
- Trojan malware: Trojan malware conceals itself as a harmless file or software existing on the device.
- Spyware: This monitors and records activities on a device without the knowledge and permission of the device owner.
- Worms: These are malware that copy itself onto other computers. There can be transferred through vulnerability in software, corrupted emails and attachments.
- Virus: This is a malicious software that replicates itself into other programs in a computer, hence altering how the computer works.
These are just a few of the malware that is common to smartphones, and they affect the device in very different ways. Despite the different ways this various malware might attack, they all have a singular aim, which is to cause harm to the host smartphone or owner. We need to be on guard against any form of malware to protect information stored on our smartphones.
How To Tell If Your Phone Has Malware
To ensure that your phone is malware-free, you certainly need to keep your eyes out for these malicious software programs. But what signs point to the presence of malware on your device? Let us take a look at a few signs to tell if your phone has malware:
The Appearance Of An Unknown Application:
This is one of the most obvious ways to tell if your phone has malware! As a smartphone user, you should be able to tell the applications that you have on your smartphone, one that came pre-installed and others that you installed for your usage. So, the moment you come across an application that certainly did not come pre-installed on your device, and you did not install it by yourself, you should know that you have malware residing in your smartphone. Most of the time, this unknown application is a Trojan horse.
Your Phone Gets Too Slow And Starts Lagging:
If you begin to notice any unusual slow performance of your device, then that might be a red flag and a sign that your phone has malware. Your phone might get slow if you are overstressing its processor and have too many apps open at the same time. But if this is not the case and your phone is just unnecessarily slow, then you have malicious software on your device.
Constant Pop-up Ads:
Like we pointed out earlier in the article, Adware is designed to keep throwing unnecessary ads your way, these ads are designed to prompt a user to click on the redirecting link. So if you are getting constant annoying ads now, and then it might be time to check if your device is virus-free.
These are just some signs to tell if your phone has malware there are a lot of other signs out there, but to be on the safe side, it is wise to run a virus scan on your device from time to time. To do this, we recommend a few antivirus applications for Android and iOS here:
- AVG Antivirus ( Android and iOS )
- Norton 360 ( Android and iOS )
If you just want to get rid of the malware completely, then you can try resetting your device, but bear in mind that doing this erases any saved data that you have on your device. In order not to get to the point where resetting your device is the only option, keep an eye out for malware. Do not download applications from unknown sources, do not click on just any link from an email from an unknown source or a pop-up ad.
Author:KittysTech
Tech analyst, Collins Eshiet, writes about technology. Follow me on Twitter @KittysTech.
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There are more than 2 billion WhatsApp users in the world today, this amount of traffic comes from mobile devices, tablets and even computers (WhatsApp Web). Lots of messages are exchanged every day via this platform whether it be for fun (between friends and family), or business purposes, over a hundred billion messages are sent daily. These figures point to the fact that WhatsApp is a big messaging platform, and the company has chosen to make messaging even more fun and convenient by constantly adding new features to its application.
One of these new features that were added to WhatsApp is the ability to control your account from your computer. This is made possible thanks to WhatsApp Web. WhatsApp Web is a computer-based extension of your already existing WhatsApp account. This has so many benefits, some of which I can personally agree have proved helpful in practical situations.
How To Set up WhatsApp Web On Your Computer
Did you know that you can send and receive messages on WhatsApp even when you are not with your smartphone? Yes, you can, as long as you have your computer up and running, engaging in back and forth conversations with your family or friends is possible.
It is important to note that there are two major ways to use WhatsApp on your computer. The first is by using the WhatsApp Web, and the second is by using WhatsApp desktop. Setting up both of them is quite similar, with the only major difference being where to get the computer-based extensions or applications ( for Windows or MAC )
To set up WhatsApp Web on your computer, take the steps as outlined below:
- Visit the WhatsApp website on your computer browser via this link .
- Select WhatsApp web on the browser and with your mobile phone scan the QR code that is displayed (this scan is to be done from our mobile WhatsApp app). After scanning the code, your computer will be connected to your WhatsApp account, and you can message from your computer.
To scan this QR code if you are using an Android device, open WhatsApp messenger and tap on the three option dots in the top-right corner of the screen. Then tap linked devices and link a device, you will be required to use unlock your phone via any security means you use (fingerprint, pattern, passcode, etc). Lastly, the QR scanner will be activated, point your device camera to your computer after opening WhatsApp web on it and scan the given QR code.
On an iPhone, open your WhatsApp messenger application. Tap Settings and then select linked devices, you will be prompted to put in your passcode once you are done this scan the QR code on your computer.
Quick Tips To Use For WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp web is a lot practical. I started using it at the beginning of the lockdown when all my activities went online (work, school and even socializing). There are some tips that I started using on the computer-based extension of my WhatsApp account to make the experience even more fun. Here are a few of these tips:
Shortcuts : This is by far one of my best features of WhatsApp web – the ability to take certain actions in just a few strokes of my keyboard. Truth be told we are used to WhatsApp on our mobile devices and if introduced to the Web version, it might seem a bit strange. Dragging the mouse cursor all over the screen and typing for a physical keyboard does not seem like the WhatsApp way. Integrating shortcuts into the WhatsApp web makes using it feel a bit more natural. Here are a few shortcut keys I use and what they do:
- Archive chats: CTRL+ATL+E
- Settings: CTRL+ALT+,
- Mute chat: CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+M
- Open your profile: CTRL+ALT+P
- Pin or unpin a chat: CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+P
- Search for a message in a specific chat: CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+F
- Search for a chat: CTRL+ALT+/
- Open a new group: CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+N
These are just a few of the shortcuts that you can use on WhatsApp web. They help simplify certain actions we take using WhatsApp on our mobile phones. With these shortcut keys, you do not need to drag your mouse cursor all over the screen. If you are using a MAC browser the actions are still the same, but as you know, CTRL becomes CMD and ALT becomes CTRL . If you are using the WhatsApp desktop application, then all actions are the same as well except that you now omit the ALT key on Windows and the CTRL key on Mac.
Chat With Yourself : I find myself doing this because I do a lot of research on my computer, and I might need to collect references to the research conducted or share the material used. Before I started using WhatsApp Web, I would share a link to my research material via email to myself or a college, but all of that changed.
I simply open a group chat on my mobile device WhatsApp application and added only myself, so if I should message myself on my phone it’ll appear on my computer. If I’m working on a document on my computer that I need to preview on my phone, I share the Word document with my group chat and receive the message on my phone. This has proved to be very productive for me, and you might as well find it practical.
Emoji Shortcut : If you are like most people, and certainly most people are, you will agree that you use emojis while chatting with friends and family. On WhatsApp Web, the emoji icon is located to the right-hand side of the tab where you type. To use it, you need to drag your mouse to the emoji button, click on it and then find and select the emoji you wish to use. But, let us get rid of the mouse when it is not necessary, there is a very short way to use emojis without touching your mouse.
Simple type : and the description of the emoji you wish to use, e.g, :smile, :hug, :angry, etc and a list of emojis for the description will pop up. You do not even need to type the entire description before the emoji pops up above the text tab. But, what about stickers and GIFs? SHIFT+TAB+ENTER will open up the emoji selection keyboard, and you can now toggle between your stickers and GIFs.
Author:KittysTech
Tech analyst, Collins Eshiet, writes about technology. Follow me on Twitter @KittysTech.
