If your phone is infected, it isn’t the end of the world. There are a few methods to remove the pop-up virus from your Android, and we’ll start with the one most likely to work—removing any apps that you don’t trust using safe mode.
Delete Suspicious Apps in Android
The first step to get rid of a Google Chrome virus on your Android is to remove permissions from suspicious apps before restarting your phone in safe mode. This will prevent them from causing problems when your phone is restarted.
Restart into Safe Mode
Uninstall Suspicious Apps
Note: The most likely cause of this virus is apps that have come from third-party sources rather than the Play Store. Look for apps you don’t remember installing or that have suspicious names. Also, keep an eye out for apps that have no name that are trying to “hide”. Note: Make sure to scroll through all of your apps a few times (especially if you have multiple pages of apps) and uninstall anything suspicious that could be causing the malware.
Enable Play Protect
Play Protect is included with the Play Store and will scan your app when you install a new one to check for malware. It will also periodically scan your device to check for potentially harmful third-party applications.
Turn Off Pop-ups in Chrome
Another way to prevent pop-ups is to turn off pop-ups and redirects in Google Chrome.
Reset Google Chrome
If none of the above has worked, try resetting Google Chrome to its original settings. This will remove Chrome’s cache, cookies, site settings, and any other data that has been saved.
Use an Antivirus
To prevent the Google Chrome pop-up virus from occurring again use antivirus software. By using one of the better Android antivirus apps you will drastically reduce the chance of any malware infecting your phone. A great choice is Malwarebytes Free. This is one of the most popular and well-used anti-malware apps for Android.
Perform a Factory Reset on your Phone
If none of the above has removed the malware from your Android, you may need to do a factory reset. This is how you reset your phone to its original condition. You will want to create a backup of your phone’s internal memory before following these steps. Note: Doing a factory reset will delete all of the data within your phone’s internal memory (but not the SD card), so ensure that you backup your phone prior to resetting it. Learn more about hard versus soft rests.
Watch What You Install
Hopefully, the methods in this article have helped you to remove the Google Chrome pop-up virus from your Android. In the future, avoid installing third-party apps unless you can verify their source or trustworthiness. By keeping to apps from the Play Store, you’ll have a much lower chance of encountering malware like the Chrome pop-up virus.
