Popup saying clean your phone or it will be locked

[Abdelrahman632]

I was surfing a site and then a weird popup showed saying "clean your infinix or it will be locked within 1 day" I did not press clean and I pressed back button and I found the popu showing in my history so I deleted the history too and scanned the phone with phonemaster and i did not find any malware but still I am worried since the popup knew my phone brand and such thing so am I in danger and can someone lock my phone with a hack and what should I do in that case?

 

[hallux]

It's easy for websites to determine what device you're using. You did the right thing by backing out and not tapping the unexpected screen, you SHOULD be ok..

If you need additional help or have more questions or details to share, please join the site so you can reply in this thread. See this link for instructions on how to join Android Central.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Don't worry about it -- it was almost certainly some bogus browser popup designed to look like a legitimate system warning. The popup was most likely related to the site you were on, so avoid that site. It's easy to detect which device you have by just checking the system info, so that's not surprising.

Please register on this forum, which will allow you to engage in discussion more easily, as well as post images. https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/409154-join-android-central-community.html

EDIT: hallux and I entered this doorway at the same time, like a 3 Stooges movie.

 

[Abdelrahman632]

I have made an account, still though is there any malware or hack which can lock mobile phones on general?

 

[Abdelrahman632]

Well it first moved me to a link that is why it showed in my history but I was quick to press back before it fully opens

 

[B. Diddy]

I have made an account, still though is there any malware or hack which can lock mobile phones on general?

Nothing commonly known. Ransomware is always a potential threat, but that has been limited to Windows PC thus far.

If you're concerned about malware, then here is my spiel about it:

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 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).

 

[Abdelrahman632]

Phone hacking problem

Well today I was listening to music and then the volume started to change by itself and the phone started to work as someone else using it and they entered xshare luckily there was no data so they could not do what they wanted to do so can someone tell me how to deal with this since my phobemaster does not detect any malware or anything useful and if this is not a hacker what can it be?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Phone hacking problem

What do you mean it entered XShare? Do you mean the browser opened to that site?

It's unlikely that you've been "hacked" in the sense of some devious master criminal sitting at a terminal actively manipulating your phone. It's more likely that some app you installed came with some adware that is causing your browser to redirect to that site. Have you installed any apps from outside the Play Store?

 

[B. Diddy]

I merged your similar threads together. I remember your earlier post now, and this makes me more convinced that you're surfing some shady sites (that have lots of potentially malicious popup ads) and/or installing apps that have adware.

Also, get rid of Phone Master. These supposed "phone cleaner" apps are largely useless, and are often shady themselves. If you're going to use an antimalware app, stick with well-known respected names like Malwarebytes.

 

[belodion]

"clean your infinix or it will be locked within 1 day"

What sort of people do you think would be behind a message like that?

 

[Abdelrahman632]

Re: Phone hacking problem

What do you mean it entered XShare? Do you mean the browser opened to that site?

It's unlikely that you've been "hacked" in the sense of some devious master criminal sitting at a terminal actively manipulating your phone. It's more likely that some app you installed came with some adware that is causing your browser to redirect to that site. Have you installed any apps from outside the Play Store?

Xshare is an app for sharing files and such things

 

[B. Diddy]

See if the behavior happens in Safe Mode as well: https://www.chuksguide.com/helper/activate-safe-mode-infinix