Experts reveal the signs that your phone has a virus and how to protect your device from malware.

If your smartphone is running out of battery fast, crashes randomly, or is using inexplicably large amounts of mobile data, it may be infected with a virus without your knowledge.

While Apple and Android devices are thought to be safe from malicious malware, hackers have found hidden ways to infect your smartphone, and an expert has outlined the signs to look out for and how to protect yourself.

Ritesh Chugh, associate professor of information and communications technology at Central Queensland University, said: “There was a “reasonable chance” that you might unwittingly install malware or spyware on your smartphone.

A virus, a type of malware, can reach our phone by clicking links in spam messages or emails from an unknown sender.

It can then spam your contacts or personal information to hackers and even “spy on you” by monitoring screen and keyboard activity or geolocation.

According to Zimperium mobile security, more than a fifth of mobile devices are infected and four out of ten devices worldwide are vulnerable to malware.

Professor Chugh reported that it is not always easy to know if your phone is infected, but there are some symptoms and abnormal behavior to watch out for.

Technology professor Ritesh Chugh said there are some symptoms and abnormal behavior to watch out for, including poor performance, app crashes and overheating.

If your device is slow and apps are taking longer than usual to open, or you’re seeing unusual pop-ups, it may be a virus.

Excessive battery consumption can indicate that malicious malware is running in the background and your phone is overheating unexpectedly.

The malware can also lead to increased mobile data usage and unexplained billing costs, as the virus “eats” your data.

If you suspect your phone is infected, Professor Chugh said there are some things Apple and Android users can do to prevent further damage.

Professor Chugh provided useful tips for keeping your phone free from viruses, including installing apps from authorized app stores and updating software.

First, he suggested using a reputable and reliable antivirus app to scan for infections like Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, McAfee or Norton.

For Android devices: clear phone memory and cache, and for iPhone: clear browsing history and website data.

If you have an Android that prevents third-party apps from working, reboot your phone and enable “Safe Mode” and finally uninstall strange or unknown apps for the downloaded list.

As a last effort, you can backup all your data and factory reset your phone, restore it to its original settings and remove all malware.

Professor Chugh has provided helpful tips for protecting your phone from future viruses and security threats, including only installing apps from authorized app stores, backing up your data regularly, checking app permissions before installing it, and keeping the software up-to-date to keep it updated.

It also stated not to click on any pop-ups or unusual links in apps, spam, social media posts or emails, and not modify or jailbreak the phone.

A “jailbreak” is when you download an unauthorized application or software to your device that allows third parties to have full access to the operating system and all of its functions.