How to remove Android malware without returning to factory settings?

Computers are not the only devices that get infected with viruses. Although it is not very common, sometimes Android devices are also infected by malware. If the phone is infected with malware, usually the first thing that comes to mind is to perform the factory reset operation.

But doing this means that all your data will be lost; Photos, saved games, text messages and everything in the phone, if you have not backed them up, will be lost by resetting the phone. With this account, it is better that returning to the factory settings is always your last solution.

But how to get rid of Android malware without doing this? To get the answer, we invite you to stay with us until the end of this article.

Is your phone infected with malware?

In many cases, the problem with your phone may not be related to malware at all. For example, the phone may crash every time it is turned on, or you may not be able to download apps from Google Play.

Note that the occurrence of such problems is not necessarily related to the presence of a malware in your phone. But if you suspect the existence of malware for any reason, it is better to ask yourself these four questions first:

1. Did the phone problems start when you downloaded a specific app or file?
2. Have you recently downloaded an application from a source other than Google Play?
3. Have you noticed an ad that installed a file or application on your phone without your consent?
4. Does the phone problem occur only when you run a certain application?

If your answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, chances are you are infected with malware. But don’t worry, you won’t need to go back to factory settings to remove the malware.

Prevention is better than cure

These days, Google Play Protect has become an integral part of all Android devices; A security system that scans every application for dangerous content before downloading.

No matter what source you install the app from, Play Protect will scan it eventually. This means that you have a native antivirus on Android by default.

If you download your apps from Google Play, the probability of these apps being infected with malware is very low. Therefore, unless you have to, preferably do not download the applications you need from different sources. Also, when downloading an application, always having common sense can help you.

Never download apps from questionable sites, don’t click on ads for no reason, and always be vigilant app accesses to avoid being exploited.

Trusted antiviruses on Android

Google Play Store is full of applications that claim to be antivirus. But most of them offer you services that not only do not help you, but you also have to pay for them.

But in the meantime, there are one or two applications that can be really effective in scanning your memory. So you can use them. Of course, let’s also say that it is not necessary to keep them on your phone after the problem is solved.

Malwarebytes

As one of the most trusted names in desktop security, Malverbytes also performs well on the Android platform. In addition to scanning the phone for malware, the free version of this application also scans applications with suspicious access.

But we recommend that you limit your use of this app to the free version. Because the premium version offers services that you may never need at a cost of $12 per year.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free

Bit Defender can also be considered a reliable antivirus, perhaps because it has a very small size. Thanks to cloud scanning, BitDefender Antivirus does not affect your device’s hardware performance and does not bombard you with unnecessary extra features.

However, it is possible that you will receive suggestions to upgrade the app to the full version. It is better to ignore these suggestions.

Manual method of cleaning malware through Safe Mode in Android

In the best case, an antivirus software can detect the presence of malware in your Android phone and delete it. But if this method doesn’t work, you need to take action yourself.

Just like Windows, Android has Safe Mode. As you know, in this mode, the operating system runs without third-party applications and disables them. Therefore, under these conditions, there is an opportunity to identify the malicious application and delete it manually.

To enter Safe Mode, do the following steps:

1. Press and hold the power button until the power menu appears.
2. Put your finger on Power off and keep it until the option Reboot to safe mode appears on the screen.
3. Point to OK.
4. Now wait for the phone to restart. In the lower and left corner of the image, you can see the Safe Mode watermark.

If the malware does not allow your phone to boot normally, use this method to enter Safe Mode:

1. Simultaneously hold the three power, volume up and volume down buttons on the body of the phone.
2. When the phone logo appears, release the power but still hold the volume buttons.
3. With this, when the phone restarts, you can see the Safe Mode icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

After entering Safe Mode, follow the path Settings > Apps > Downloaded. In Android Oreo or newer versions, the situation is a little different and you have to go to Settings > Apps & See all X apps.

Here you should think about the application that after installation, your problems with the operating system started from that moment. Delete any application that you think has somehow contributed to the infection of your device in this section. After this, you can restart the phone in the usual way and return to normal mode.

But if you can’t delete an app in Safe Mode, it means that that app has Device Administrator access. Follow the steps below to disable this access:

1. Follow the path Settings > Security > Device Administrators. (In Android Oreo and later versions Settings > Security & Device admin apps)
2. Find the desired app and tick next to it.
3. Activate the Deactivate option after it appears.

Now you can go back to the application list and delete the application you want easily.

The next step: Organize the phone’s memory

After cleaning applications containing malware, it is better to organize the phone’s memory. Deleting the cache and history of browsers and cleaning the startup processes of the operating system can guarantee that your device will continue to work well.

For this, we recommend that you do not use applications such as Clean Master and applications such as CCleaner Use which only focus on cleaning up extra files, nothing else.

SD Maid application is also one of the good and effective products that we suggest you to use.

Factory reset is always a last resort

It is possible that none of the methods mentioned above will be able to remove the malware from your phone. Under these conditions, you will have no choice but to return to the factory settings.

If you reach a dead end in all the methods and intend to restore the factory settings, make sure to back up all your important data before doing so.