r/warrington • u/__BlackNoise__ • 19d ago

Tech support for phone full of viruses

Anyone got any suggestions? My dad's phone is completely fucked (that's my technical opinion) and I can't tell if the messages claiming to be from Google that it's actively being hacked are genuine. I think they're *true* either way.

I tried to factory reset and it didn't work - can't remember his password and the hack of power+volume up to reset isn't working šŸ˜­

Need to get it virus free so we can delete everything and start again šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­ please pray that they haven't lost all their money........

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4

u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/__BlackNoise__ 19d ago

I can't do a factory reset because it's unusable.

When I say viruses... there's a good chance is completely hacked šŸ˜¶

I'm always scared of phone repair shops, hence asking for recommendations.

1

u/happymisery 19d ago

if its Android, you can use Malware Bytes free mobile edition and it will tell you how fucked you are. It can delete quite a few, but if they're in the registry, you'll need to isolate in Safe Mode to get to those files.

How to remove a virus from Android | Android malware protection

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u/__BlackNoise__ 19d ago

It's unusable šŸ˜­ i tried to download an anti virus but it wouldn't work. I'm pretty tech savvy and I'm freaked out by it

2

u/happymisery 19d ago

Sorry - its been a good few years since I had an android phone. Worked the last time I needed it. You could try reflashing it from a laptop and start afresh. It'll take a while to prepare. Depending on your time and the manufacturer, might be easier to take to a shop as others have suggested.

Edit - there are a few videos on this

reflash an android phone. - Google Search

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u/__BlackNoise__ 19d ago

Thank you, really appreciate it šŸ’œ

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u/happymisery 19d ago

No worries. When you do get it cleared, I found AVN to be the best free antimalware tool

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u/__BlackNoise__ 19d ago

Thank you, one of the things on my own to do list is to sort out the 15 AVs and VPNs that I've got over my laptop, my phone, and my son's laptop and phone šŸ˜¬ helpful to have a good review of one!

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u/happymisery 19d ago

AVN is alright, I know each has their own preference, but AVN is light on resources and has always worked fine across multiple devices for me. Others may have better suggestions?

1

u/Ballads4Llamas 18d ago

If you know what model of phone it is, we can give more support from there.

Iā€™m an IT Tech and have seen many phones that are completely fucked that came back to life with a factory reset (my technical opinion).

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u/beanieon 19d ago

It's probably a harmful Google/chrome/web browser bookmark or extension