A growing trend over the last decade has been more and more work being done on smartphones. It’s hardly surprising – they are able to allow us to work on the go, in more places, arguably (alongside the laptop) severing us from the need to permanently be in an office.
However, they aren’t without their downsides.
With their popularity comes the opportunity for nefarious individuals to abuse lax security for their own ends. It is entirely possible, just like with computers, for a smartphone to be infected with a virus. However, not as many people know about the warning signs to look out for. Here are our top tips.
A key sign that your phone is infected with a virus is if you find it to be running through data at a much higher rate than you would expect. The reason being is that many viruses will be trying to running multiple applications in the background of your phone. This can be especially noticeable and problematic for you if you’re on a contract that does not have unlimited data as you might find yourself purchasing more data – essentially paying for the privilege of having a virus on your phone.
An app that crashes once is an annoyance, an app that is crashing repeatedly is a significant problem, and might well indicate a virus has infected your smartphone. One thing you will want to do is ensure that the apps on your phone are fully up to date to stop viruses from taking hold.
If you review your phone bill at the end of the month and see any unexplained charges, don’t rush to blame your teenage children. Malicious applications can prompt your phone to text or call premium numbers without your knowledge. This can be particularly prevalent for Android users, so make sure to double-check the “SMS charges” section of your bill.
Much like a standard computer, a virus running on a mobile device takes up a lot of space and energy. In a computer, you’ll notice this by the speed (or rather, lack of it) of the applications that you’re trying to run. The biggest tell on a smartphone can often be the drain on the battery. Battery drain can be for reasons such as some of the apps on your phone being buggy or badly written, some of it can simply be down to the age of the device. But often significant and persistent battery drain will be related to a virus.
Now that you’ve seen our top tips, you should at least feel slightly more confident in identifying if your phone – either Android of iPhone is struggling with a virus and the first steps that you can take to resolve that problem.
If you’re concerned about keeping data safe and secure in your business – both on your phones and computers talk to us today about how our antivirus and security offerings can keep you and your customers safe.
