How to make sure my Boost Mobile LG stylo4 is virus/spyware free and running top notch

[Android Central Question]

Hey guys, first time I've ever done this in one of these forums but I just want to make sure my phone is safe and running correctly. I'm not very tech savvy just a heads up a the lingo is basically Chinese to me sometimes.
I have a basic question. My time is almost up with boost who I wish I would have never gone to btw and I'm hoping to have them unlock it when my year is up in a month or two.
In the meantime I get a lot of texts, emails and other irregularities that I want to make sure my phone is not being spied on or have any kind of viruses or malware. I see people saying you don't need an anti-virus that it does more harm than good.
So I guess my basic question is until I get this phone unlocked how do I, as someone with little knowledge of the terms or lingo, make sure this phone is safe and at the same time running top notch as far as speed and performance.
Just off the subject a little bit, am I the only one worried about Google/FB etc harvesting all my data and how bad is it really? Are there ways around that? Thank you

 

[mustang7757]

I don't use antivirus and I do believe they do more harm then good , performance wise make sure you delete any unused apps or files that you download don't use anymore, if has cache in recovery clear it once in a while. Facebook some uninstall for concern of privacy and others don't , I have it on my phones.
'll leave a Link to register so you can communicate here as a guest account you can only post questions but can't reply.https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[me just saying]

if you are worry your phone is getting spied upon, then just reset it to factory. as far as anti malware apps, imo, they are not needed. they take up resources and can give false positives.

 

[Rukbat]

In the meantime I get a lot of texts, emails and other irregularities

Everyone is, these days, due to robodialers. Sending data on the internet is free so companies get internet lines and make hundreds of voice and text calls an hour, hoping to get some sucker to fall for their stuff.

I see people saying you don't need an anti-virus that it does more harm than good.

If you never get on the internet, you don't, otherwise you do. On a phone, on a computer, on anything. Install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and any good anti-virus software (there's plenty on Play - I personally stay away from Kaspersky, because of some recent complaints about them).

So I guess my basic question is until I get this phone unlocked how do I, as someone with little knowledge of the terms or lingo, make sure this phone is safe and at the same time running top notch as far as speed and performance.

1. The fact that the phone is SIM-locked is no assurance that it doesn't have viruses, spyware and other malware on it. It's not "malware-locked", it's just locked against using a non-Sprint SIM (Boost used Sprint - it used to be Sprint's only pay-as-you-go system).

Just off the subject a little bit, am I the only one worried about Google/FB etc harvesting all my data and how bad is it really?

Google does, but using it for anything other than what the company intends it for is an easy wan to get walked out the door as you're being told that you're fired. Google takes security seriously. (But without Google, most of the phone won't work.) Facebook? They've already been accused by the government, many times, of misuse of customers' data - the best way of avoiding that is to avoid Facebook.

(This is coming from 46 years of commercial communications electronics experience [and an additional 16 years of non-commercial experience], so take it for what it's worth.)

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! This is my usual spiel about "viruses":

For the most part, it's still quite difficult to get an actual virus on your phone, because malware requires you to manually accept the installation (which is why they try to fool you into thinking you're installing something legitimate). Use common sense:


1. Avoid shady websites that deal with things like porn, gambling, and "free" (aka pirated) apps/music/movies.


2. Never ever tap on a link that appears in a popup while browsing, especially if they're warning you that your phone is infected -- they're just trying to scare you into installing some bogus "antivirus" app that is probably malicious itself.


3. Only install apps from well-established app sources like Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore. Read a bunch of app reviews before installing an app to look for any complaints about adware or suspected malware.


4. Turn on Google Play Protect features in Settings>Google>Security (or in the Play Store settings). This allows Google to periodically scan your phone's apps to look for malware.


5. Turn off "Unknown Sources" in Settings>Security (or in Special App Access on newer phones). This prevents any app that wasn't obtained from Google Play Store from being installed (which could include malicious apps that are inadvertently downloaded).