What do i do if Malware is in Google play services? Samsung s5.

[AC Question]

What do i do if Malware in Google play service app and I have disabled & force stopped it, I then go to do factory reset and before it's done Google play service is back on it and saves most of the data I said not to save? Then I go to settings then apps it says it's running then go to all apps and it says it's disabled & forced stop but all the data I deleted off of it is back on it.. When I try to disable it again it tells me I can't because it is an administrator.. What do I do?

 

[LeoRex]

Why do you suspect Google Play Services is infected by malware?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Google Play Services is integral to how all of your Google apps and services work. It's not malware. See here: The genius of Google Play Services: Tackling Android fragmentation, malware and forking in one fell swoop | Android Central

 

[Tammi Alexander]

Why do you suspect Google Play Services is infected by malware?

I'm thinking Google play service is being controlled by malware maybe? Every time I try to factory reset I tell it not to save or restore anything but after the factor reset is done, it restores certain things and says Google play service is working as administrator. I've disabled and forced stop it and deleted all data on the G.play service app, close out then go right back to the app and it's still running, pull it back up says it's still disabled & forced stopped but all the data & cache data is back on it. Is there anyway to put pics on here so you can see? I took screen shots of each step I done and when I reopened again.

 

[B. Diddy]

Every time I try to factory reset I tell it not to save or restore anything but after the factor reset is done, it restores certain things and says Google play service is working as administrator.

Go to Settings>Backup & Reset, and uncheck Automatically Restore. Now do another Factory Reset.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...ide-how-post-screenshots-android-central.html

 

[Aquila]

Google Play Services is an app that hooks in to just about every app and service on Android - it enables a huge amount of features that are otherwise inaccessible within Android. It will automatically restart (because it is a fundamental service) and it should always be running. I can't think of a reason that you'd want to make it stop running unless it's just because you're not sure what it is.

You should avoid disabling, force-stopping, etc. at all costs unless you're going to run a custom version of Android without any Google apps, including the Play Store, etc. - such as the way the Kindle Fire works.

 

[Tammi Alexander]

I've done that over and over again. I've made sure every time to uncheck the automatic restore box but every time after the factory reset is done, the automatic restore box is checked again and you can't uncheck it.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Why do you want to disable Google Play Services?

Android is not like Windows. Android runs best if RAM is used, not unused. Please see this article from someone who wrote Android: Android Developers Blog: Multitasking the Android Way

 

[Tammi Alexander]

I'm trying to do a factory hard reset because my phone is been acting up. I uncheck the box for automatic restore every time, then to factory reset, when that's done it comes up with the automatic restore box checked again and you can't uncheck it, you have to precede in setting up phone. When I try it again and uncheck the automatic restore box, it puts a check back and says Google play service is the administrator, so I was hoping to disable G.play service then it would let me do the factory reset but it just keeps doing the same thing over & over again. Any suggestions? Anyone help please..

 

[Laura Knotek]

What do you mean by "acting up"? What issues are you experiencing?

 

[ironass]

Hi Tammi Alexander!

Google Play Services is an integral part of your phone which will automatically start and control other aspects of your phone, such as, Google Drive, Google Play Game Services, Maps and Street View, Location, etc: This needs to be active and have a number of permissions to enable those apps to function... a sort of flight controller for your phone, if you like. See, Google Play Services for a more in-depth explanation.

If, for your peace of mind, you wish to check your phone for any possible malware, download Bitdefender Antivirus Free from the Play Store and run some scans to see if they show any issues.

Alternatively, you could even download the firmware for your phone and flash this to your device after a Factory Data Reset and by following the instructions and video in the links of #1.11 of 42 Galaxy S5 models - Dummies Guide. This would guarantee a completely fresh, virus free, installation as if it had just come out of the box.

 

[Tammi Alexander]

It started out when i would text it would send the same text 5-6 times in a row then a few hours later it would send that same text 2-3 times again, then I would text something like "I don't know" and the person I was texting would get "OK it don't matter".. then it would just randomly call people out of contacts but didn't register on my phone. Tried to download a couple game from Google play store and it won't let me, it says Google play service has closed app.. it cleared some apps off under application like Android system it replaced with com.Google.gcm.android and other apps it replaced like that, all of them had "gcm or gms" in it.. The gcm part from what I read wasn't a good thing.

 

[Tammi Alexander]

I tried to download the Bitdefender but when I would tap install it closes down & goes to my home screen, then says Google play store has stopped working, then Google play service has stopped working. Any other suggestions please let me know.

 

[B. Diddy]

GCM refers to Google Cloud Messaging, so I don't think that's malware. It sounds more like there's something wrong with the phone's firmware or hardware. A factory reset won't necessarily fix a corrupt firmware, because it's just trying to restore things using the corrupt firmware that's on the phone. You can try reinstalling the firmware using Samsung Smart Switch. If that's not possible, you could also try reinstalling the firmware manually using Odin: http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...w-flash-stock-rom-via-odin-new-interface.html

 

[drinkoldcoke]

You get in touch with Google since they have the code and can tell you what is legitimate and what's not IMO.

 

[alsta100]

Why do you suspect Google Play Services is infected by malware?

In my case LG E510, when I have app named Google Play Services automatically downloaded, - Gmail is not working and app Play Store does not run properly.

 

[B. Diddy]

In my case LG E510, when I have app named Google Play Services automatically downloaded, - Gmail is not working and app Play Store does not run properly.

Welcome to Android Central! That phone was released in 2011, and whatever Android version is on it, i can guarantee you that it's no longer supported by Google. This means most if not all Google apps will not work correctly. I recommend getting a more modern phone.

 

[alsta100]

Welcome to Android Central! That phone was released in 2011, and whatever Android version is on it, i can guarantee you that it's no longer supported by Google. This means most if not all Google apps will not work correctly. I recommend getting a more modern phone.

Thanks. I have new Sony Xperia XZ2, but practicing on old LG. I am new with androids and don't want make mess on the new.
It should be noted that I used Application Manager and easily uninstalled Google Play Services. Then Gmail and Play Store worked great. So it comes out that the app is unnecessary and, if it is not malware, it makes RAM low. Don't know how it comes from home WiFi? I guess the Windows 10 network contributes here.

 

[Mooncatt]

Thanks. I have new Sony Xperia XZ2, but practicing on old LG. I am new with androids and don't want make mess on the new.
It should be noted that I used Application Manager and easily uninstalled Google Play Services. Then Gmail and Play Store worked great. So it comes out that the app is unnecessary and, if it is not malware, it makes RAM low. Don't know how it comes from home WiFi? I guess the Windows 10 network contributes here.

Google Play Services is not malware, and many other apps use it to run more efficiently (it has common purposes, so app developers can call on it to accomplish a task instead of adding that code from scratch to their app). Some apps won't even function correctly without it. I found that out when I disabled the contacts permission and broke the ability to voice dial.

Because it's a Google app, yes it will download and update itself without your input. This is common and not something to be overly concerned with. It's good to have a phone to play with things like things, but understand that what happens on one device won't be the same on another. Especially when it comes to a phone that's ancient in the smartphone world.


Also, don't worry about RAM usage. Android is designed to keep it mostly full and functions best when left alone.

 

[B. Diddy]

Also, I suspect you didn't actually uninstall Google Play Services completely -- you probably just uninstalled updates and reverted to the factory version of Play Services. Since it auto-updates in the background, it probably wasn't too long before it updated to the current version again.