It might have happened to you at some point: you are checking your phone and there are apps and files that you are not sure where they are coming from. On Android it’s relatively easy inadvertently install appsbecause there are some very intrusive websites and apps with their banners and invites to download and accept their reviews.
We will teach you some practices to avoid only apps are installed on Android, something that will help you avoid malware on your phone. With a little bit of caution and a few recommendations to consider, you can keep your phone free of junk files.
Just because you get a warning doesn’t mean you have to accept it
We usually go on autopilot when we see an “ok” prompt on the phone. Fortunately, an APK file cannot be installed on Android until we perform two steps: accept your download and install it. However, although these are two steps, it is nothing more than giving a few reviews twice.
In addition, these are not always APK files, some applications they can take us directly to the play store and, being an official store, we end up installing something that we don’t need.
On some websites, you can go directly to the APK review. Fortunately, Android warns you before installing anything. Although the “accept” button is large and colorful, you do not need to click
Android always alerts you when you go to download an APK file. If it was not in your plans to install anything, it is not advisable to do so, no matter how much a website insists. In most cases, these are malicious applications that want to install “without our permission”.
Check the URL you are browsing
When we are browsing the web, it is more than common to find fraudulent reviews, which are nothing more than advertisements for you to download files. In this case, we give you a common example: you are looking for a movie online, and when you click to watch it, they “recommend” you to install a VPN for safe browsing.
- You open a web page.
- You want to read content or download something.
- A new window opens for you, which is actually an ad that prompts you to download something confusingly similar to what you wanted.
- You end up downloading a file that you didn’t want.
Countless web pages open intrusive ad with bad intentions when it comes to wanting to replicate content
If you notice that the download page is a different URL, open it in a different window. Browsers like Chrome tell you what window and URL you’re in.
Although it is not easy to spot for the average user, this is an announcement opened in a new window. How can you verify this? Looking at the url and the window manager open. Google Chrome allows us to see at any time which tab we are in: if a new one has been opened, it is advisable to close it immediately.
As a recommendation, it’s handy to know that an honest app will never appear under a “speed up your phone, protect me” ad. aggressive temporary hooks like “install now, now, etc.” and other premises that invite to download.
Advertising in Xiaomi’s own native apps.
With an unnecessary pop-up giveaway.
Sometimes these reviews appear in the system’s own applications, as in the case of Xiaomi. In the MIUI cleaning app itself there are colorful prompts to install apps and we are welcome to add shortcuts to certain functions. This will fill our desktop with unnecessary applications and functions.
Check the notification bar every now and then
There are apps which, without our permission, are hosted in the notification bar. If overnight there is something in the notification bar that you don’t recognize or you don’t know where it came from, you already know that there is something that has been installed without you realizing it.
Familiarizing yourself with the notification bar is a good strategy to avoid ignoring when these things happen. This notification bar also shows which external files have been uploaded, so it’s doubly useful.
Use a browser with AdBlock under certain circumstances
Browsers with AdBlock lag far behind in the overall experience compared to alternatives like Chrome. However, if you are going to browse pages loaded with fraudulent ads, they can save you an upheaval.
This option is particularly recommended when they give us a download link of dubious origin and which, surely, opens dozens of windows loaded with advertising.
They are a good choice for open download links which can be linked to a battery of ad pages that you have to see and accept to reach the landing page, websites with movie and series content, etc. Brave or the official AdBlock browser itself are two good alternatives that we can recommend.
