Some obnoxious malware has suddenly appeared on my Galaxy S6 (model SM G920A). Here's how it goes:
Each occurrence consists of first showing an ad (usually with a very noisy sound track, even if my volume is turned down to zero). When I hit the "X" to close that, it then shows another screen claiming that it's doing something beneficial to my phone (such as "Speeding up your phone 18%") and sometimes offering some kind of system protection app. I can then close this popup by hitting an "X".
These "occurrences" happen frequently when I have just booted up the phone, but also at many times after that - often when I'm trying to do something (like place a call) but sometimes when I'm not doing anything with the phone. They don't happen when the phone is in safe mode.
The content of the ads indicates that the malware is has access to my info. For example, a few days after it started, I left my home in the US and am now traveling in Mexico. Since then, a lot of the ads are in Spanish. It also knows about other installed apps; for example it shows ads from a local store whose app I have on the phone. (I have screen shots but don't know how to attach them here.)
The popups themselves don't identify the app that is producing them, but if I look at my list of running apps I find something in their title bar. Most often it says "Ad Page", but sometimes "Booster"
All this started happening a few weeks ago. I'm aware of two things I did before that that may be significant: (1) Installed WhatsApp (from Google Play). (2) Replaced my ATT sim card with a T-Mobile card (because only T-Mobile has service in Mexico).
Any advice on how to get rid of this?
Each occurrence consists of first showing an ad (usually with a very noisy sound track, even if my volume is turned down to zero). When I hit the "X" to close that, it then shows another screen claiming that it's doing something beneficial to my phone (such as "Speeding up your phone 18%") and sometimes offering some kind of system protection app. I can then close this popup by hitting an "X".
These "occurrences" happen frequently when I have just booted up the phone, but also at many times after that - often when I'm trying to do something (like place a call) but sometimes when I'm not doing anything with the phone. They don't happen when the phone is in safe mode.
The content of the ads indicates that the malware is has access to my info. For example, a few days after it started, I left my home in the US and am now traveling in Mexico. Since then, a lot of the ads are in Spanish. It also knows about other installed apps; for example it shows ads from a local store whose app I have on the phone. (I have screen shots but don't know how to attach them here.)
The popups themselves don't identify the app that is producing them, but if I look at my list of running apps I find something in their title bar. Most often it says "Ad Page", but sometimes "Booster"
All this started happening a few weeks ago. I'm aware of two things I did before that that may be significant: (1) Installed WhatsApp (from Google Play). (2) Replaced my ATT sim card with a T-Mobile card (because only T-Mobile has service in Mexico).
Any advice on how to get rid of this?
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