How to Tell If Your iPhone Has A Virus or Malware

Apple is renowned for its security and privacy practices. Since they design & develop both the hardware & software in such a way that very few of their products have security issues. However, using Apple products does not guarantee 100% safety and you might inevitably be targeted by cybercriminals sooner or later. Therefore, the essential query is how to tell if your iPhone has a virus or malware.

No operating system is completely invulnerable to malware and viruses. To keep your iPhone safe from virus attacks, it’s important to check for malware on your phone without risking its security. Read on to find out how to detect and remove viruses from your iPhone.

Some Symptoms of having a Virus in iPhone

In this article, we explain how to check if you have malware on your iPhone and what to do if you find out it does. Following is a list of some symptoms you will know if any virus or malware lurks in your iPhone.

Frequent app crashes.
Your iPhone started overheating.
Sudden pop-ups while using the internet.
A dramatic increase in cellular data consumption.
A major decrease in performance.
Any odd or doubtful downloaded files.

How To Check If Your iPhone Has Viruses or Malware?

1. Look For Any Unfamiliar App

Finding out if you have any unusual apps installed on your device is one of the simplest ways to check if your iPhone has spyware or viruses. This means you need to search for applications that you haven’t downloaded and aren’t Apple defaults.

Examine the folders and files on your home screen to find such apps. If there’s nothing visible, but you’re still unsure, check your device’s settings to see anything unfamiliar.

2. Check The Data Usage of the Apps

This is an additional method of inspecting iPhones for malware and viruses. Look out for those apps that have consumed a significant amount of data, especially the ones that you haven’t used in a while. Chances are that these apps are infected with malware. In this case, you should uninstall that app or disable the data for the app.

To check the data usage of the apps, you need to open “Settings” and then head over to the “Mobile network.” Scroll down and tap on “Mobile Data.”

3. Monitor Battery Usage Of Apps

One of the easiest ways to find out if your iPhone has a virus/malware installed is to check the battery usage of the apps. Remove any apps—known or unknown—that use a lot of battery and don’t correspond to how you use the device right away.

Tap on “Settings” on your iPhone.
Scroll down and click on “Battery.”

Here, examine the battery utilization of each app.

4. Check if Your iPhone is Jailbroken

The jailbreak function allows iPhone owners to add functionality and make custom tweaks that are often disallowed. But it is hazardous, putting your device at risk of malware and viruses. It’s difficult to determine whether your iPhone has been jailbroken. But you should check whether it has been jailbroken in case you bought a refurbished or used iPhone.

On your home screen, access the “Spotlight search” by swiping the screen.
Look for the “Cydia” application. The presence of Cydia on the list indicates your iPhone has been jailbroken.

How to Clean a Virus/Malware Off of Your iPhone

After knowing how to tell if your iPhone has a virus or malware, look at the list below for removing malware from your device.

1. Restart the iPhone

The simplest way to clean your iPhone of malware or virus infestation is to do this. Rebooting will instantly resolve all issues and return default settings. If you are using an older iPhone and have the iconic “Home” button, hold the on/off and home buttons together. Continue doing this as long as your phone is on and off.

And there is another way to do this if you are using iPhone X or above then follow these steps:

Press and hold down the “volume up” and “power” buttons together for a short while until the “slide to power off” option will appear in front of you.
To switch off iPhone, slide the switch towards the right.
Press and hold down the “volume up” and “power” buttons once more for a few minutes until the Apple logo appears.

2. Delete Suspicious Apps

Getting rid of any suspicious apps from your iPhone should assist in cleaning it up from viruses/malware. You can do this by holding the app’s icon until the specific app is highlighted and selecting “Remove App.”

Anything you didn’t download or install from the App Store also needs to be deleted. You shouldn’t download any non-App store applications.

3. Erase Your History and Website Data

By erasing your website history, you can remove any malware or virus that may have found its way onto your iPhone due to visiting an unsafe website. Follow the steps below:

Open “Settings” on your iPhone.
Scroll down and click on “Safari.”

Look down and tap on “Clear History and Website Data.”

Select “Clear History and Data” to confirm it.

4. Update Your Devices’ iOS

Along with the new update comes a fresh security patch that instantly cleans your iPhone of all viruses/malware. You should always utilize the most recent iOS version for improved performance and security. Follow the steps below:

Open “Settings” on your iPhone.
Scroll down and click on “General.”

After that, select “Software Update.”

Hit the “Automatic Updates” button.
Turn on the switches for “Install iOS updates” and “download iOS updates.”

To Wrap This Up

So, this is how you can check if your iPhone has a virus/malware and take the necessary steps mentioned above. New malware/viruses targeting iPhones are discovered almost every day. That’s why you need to take precautions when downloading apps, browsing the web, or any other time you interact with your iPhone. If you think your iPhone might be infected with malware, take these recommendations to search for and get rid of the app before it does any actual harm.

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April 26, 2024

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