These 5 signs found on Android phones are dangerous! If you see even one, consider that the device has been hacked.

Has your smartphone also suddenly started heating up? Or is internet data getting exhausted without any reason? Today, about 70% of the people in the world use Android smartphones. Hackers and cyber criminals always keep an eye on this platform with about 3.9 billion users. Due to such a large population, Android devices become the easiest targets for malware attacks. When malware or any virus enters a phone, it not only puts your personal information at risk but also completely ruins the performance of the phone. (Image – Canva)

Usually, these viruses enter our phone when we download an app from an unknown place or an unofficial website. Many times people install some dangerous apps in the name of free or cracked versions of paid apps. These apps take complete control of your phone. Apart from this, the phone can also be hacked by clicking on any unknown link or visiting unsafe websites. Sometimes, in very rare cases, malware can also be sent to your phone through faulty or modified USB cables and devices. Whatever be the route, once the phone gets infected, it starts doing strange things. (Image – Canva)

Its first and most disturbing symptom is the recurring occurrence of strange AIDS. When you are watching a video, surfing the internet or using a normal app, and suddenly the screen is flooded with pop-up ads, then understand that something is wrong. Although ads in apps are normal, but ads containing malware come in large numbers and it is very difficult to stop them. Many times, without even clicking on them, they send you to some other unknown website or app. These types of ads run in your background and target you by tracking your online behavior. Be especially wary of pop-ups like ‘Call for technical support’, as these could be the beginning of a major fraud. (Image – Canva)

Another big sign is the appearance of such apps in your phone which you never installed. If you see any unknown app on your phone’s screen or settings, get alerted immediately. Often, when downloading from third-party app stores, these malware are secretly installed in your phone. In comparison, Google Play Store is quite safe because it has a feature called ‘Play Protect’ which keeps scanning the apps continuously. However, sometimes vicious malware manages to enter the phone by dodging even the security of the Play Store. If you see any such app, delete it immediately and run a manual scan by going to Play Store. If the danger seems great, then resetting the phone is the safest option. (Image – Canva)

Does your phone suddenly become hot like a furnace even without doing any heavy work? Today’s good smartphones do not get hot at all during normal work like web browsing or chatting. But when there is malware in the phone, it makes your processor do double duty. This virus keeps hiding in the background and stealing your contact list, email ID and personal data. Due to this extra load, your phone becomes very slow and even daily tasks start getting stuck. Along with this, your phone’s battery also starts draining very fast. However, this can happen even if you have an old phone, so it is important to check once with a good antivirus. (Image – Canva)

Apart from this, sudden increase in data usage is also a big warning sign. Since malware continuously steals data from your phone and sends it to hackers’ servers, your internet data starts getting exhausted very quickly. If you have a limited internet plan, your bill may also increase and the internet speed may also become very slow. To check this, you should go to your phone’s settings and see ‘Data Usage’. There you will get the list of those apps which are consuming the most internet. Some clever malware give themselves names like ‘system app’ or ‘calculator’ to avoid being detected. Therefore, if in doubt, immediately turn off the background data of such apps. (Image – Canva)

The last and most dangerous sign is strange and unknown activity on the phone. Malware can automatically change your phone’s settings, such as changing your browser’s homepage. What’s worse is when your phone automatically starts sending suspicious links to friends and family members in your contact list. The other person thinks that you have sent the link, so they click on it and thus this virus spreads further. Some dangerous spyware even record every keystroke of your keyboard, due to which they get your bank account password, card details and personal ID. If anything like this happens to you, immediately inform your bank and cyber cell and always take care of internet hygiene. (Image – Canva)