Full screen ads appearing out of app - Nexus 5

[AC Question]

Nexus 5 on Marshmallow, full screen ads are appearing suddenly. I had installed WordTrek which seemed ad-heavy but no out of app ads, but uninstalled it after 2 days. I also uninstalled ESFileExplorer which has got unusable due to the ads. I've done a partition wipe and factory reset. A folder called GoAdSDK keeps reappearing after deletion. I've used AntiAdware to look for malware but it only comes back with in-app ads that belong to apps I've used for ages and trust (relatively). So there's malware somewhere, but how do I find it?
Any ideas on how to resolve this?
thanks

 

[Javier P]

Welcome to the forums! Do you have any app by GO (SMS, launcher, etc) installed in your phone? If so, disable it temporarily and see if the ads disappear.

 

[jpjof]

Hi, many thanks for reply. I've checked that Go Dev Team on the Play store and I don't have any of their apps installed, and I don't think I ever have.

 

[Javier P]

Hi, many thanks for reply. I've checked that Go Dev Team on the Play store and I don't have any of their apps installed, and I don't think I ever have.

Thanks for registering! There many apps pushings ads and 'booster' popups. Take a look at this thread and the link included and see if you have any of those apps installed in your phone.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/675286-phone-boosted-popup.html

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Also see if the ads appear in Safe Mode: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2852139?hl=en

 

[jpjof]

Thanks for your replies. I don't have appsI've by those developers installed. Also, 've tried safe mode, but the ads are intermittent so it's difficult to track. Is it possible to do a factory reset that won't restore everything but instead I could install only from scratch those apps I wanted?
Or how would I do a completely fresh installation? Is that what people mean when they talk about "flashing the ROM"?
Thanks

 

[Javier P]

You could try something else before a factory reset. There's a way to narrow the search for which app is pushing the ads. Go to settings - apps - advanced (cog icon top right) - draw over other apps and the culprit should have this permission enabled (yes). In that screen you can tap on the arrow right of 'enabled' and change it for 'apps with permission' and see what's listed in there.

Depending on how many apps you have installed this lists can be big, so you need to be patient disabling one by one until you find the culprit. You can post screenshots here and we'll try to guess which apps are more likely to be the one you're after.

 

[B. Diddy]

If you want to do a factory reset and prevent any apps from reinstalling, just go to the Play Store immediately after finishing the Setup Wizard, and stop any app that is automatically installing.

 

[jpjof]

Thank you for replies. I was wrong, I did have an app by that developer, so have uninstalled it. Many thanks for you help.

 

[Javier P]

Thank you for replies. I was wrong, I did have an app by that developer, so have uninstalled it. Many thanks for you help.

Glad you managed to fix it! Which app was the culprit?

 

[jpjof]

It was GoAdSDK's Next browser. I've deleted that (shame) and the full screen ads haven't appeared since. Thanks!