Imagine you wake up one morning to find your phone’s display has been changed, and every time it vibrates or makes noise you see either “hacked” or “XSS”, sometimes accompanied by a string of characters. Feeling a bit confused about what happened, you try to unlock your phone but realize its PIN no longer works. But why? Here are signs that might indicate someone hacked your mobile device.
1. You Notice Signs of an OS or Software Update you Never Initiated
When we buy a smartphone, we usually know what operating system runs on it and we also know that our phone’s manufacturer provides updates for the OS to improve its functions and fix bugs. We don’t usually think about whether there was a suspicious update pushed to our device without us knowing. If the same happened and you find signs of such an update– new files, folders created by unknown applications, or even signs of two different OSes running on your device – this might indicate signs of hacking.
2. You Notice New or Suspicious Applications on Your Device
If it turns out that your device contains applications you never installed, then signs of hacking might be the reason behind their appearance. If you suspect one of these apps to be responsible for an update pushed to your phone without your knowledge, intentionally or not (the latter usually happens with free software such as games, system tools, and launchers), uninstall it.
This simple step will get rid of potential malware. You might also want to check whether there are still signs of the update in question. Note: make sure not to remove important system applications if you do not know what they do and how (exactly) they function.
3. A Vulnerability Scanner Shows Signs of Malware or Hacking Tools
If you own a security solution for your smartphone or tablet, signs that your device was hacked might show up in the results of a vulnerability scanner. Usually, if this happens, the reason behind such signs is not malware infections but signs of hacking tools such as “rootkits” and exploits.
4. You Notice Signs of Phone Rebooting to Factory Settings
It’s not unusual for smartphones to reboot from time to time to ensure everything runs smoothly and fix errors. Yet signs that your phone restores factory settings without any reason might indicate signs of hacking. If factory resetting occurs only when the SIM card has been changed or after an update pushed by your carrier, then it may be legitimate and safe for use.
5. You Notice Signs of Unauthorized Access to Your Phone
In case signs of hacking appear, this may be because someone accessed your device from outside. For example, phone numbers that you never previously gave could start showing up on the “missed calls” list, pop-up windows might show requests to access your smartphone’s camera and file storage without a sound reason for them to do so. This is especially dangerous if signs talk about unauthorized access to online accounts or data synchronization apps such as e-mail and social media applications.
6. You Notice Unusual Battery Drain and/or Fast Charging
If signs of hacking appear on your mobile device, then the culprit might be software that exploits vulnerabilities to gain superuser rights (known as rooting), or those that implement hidden background services. These signs usually show up in battery statistics, which will probably mention suspicious processes that consume a lot of energy. For example, if your phone’s display is turned off but the device still drains its battery quickly or some applications start draining it faster than usual, signs of hacking might be present on your device.
7. You See Pop-Up Messages You Didn’t Create
Sometimes signs of mobile malware are easy to spot because they can appear as pop-up messages that ask for permission to get access to information stored on the smartphone. If you see such signs and did not create them yourself, then signs of mobile hacking might be present.
8. You Notice Unexplained Wireless Network Connections
If signs of hacking appear on your smartphone, always check for signs of unauthorized wireless network connections. The signs will appear in the format “SSID” or “MAC address”, which are unique identifiers for each device that are not known to the average smartphone owner. Clicking on this information can lead you to web pages with more details about it but be careful where you click because links leading to suspicious websites might reveal signs of mobile malware.
9. Your Mobile Device is Asking You for Permissions You Did Not Grant
If signs of hacking appear on your phone, then your device’s behavior depends on its OS version and changes made by hackers. Usually, signs show up in pop-up windows asking you for permissions you did not grant to apps installed on your smartphone or requesting connectivity permission if there are signs of rooted devices.
10. Your Smartphone’s Camera Starts Recording Videos by Itself
If signs of mobile hacking appear, then your smartphone might take secret snapshots and record videos without you knowing about it. This happens because malware might be listening to “hot words” such as “OK”, which can allow hackers to use the device’s camera as a peephole or trigger services that permit hackers to connect remotely, and access data stored on the smartphone (e-mail and social media accounts, for example).
11. You Notice Unusual Changes in Your Phone’s Settings
If signs of hacking appear on your phone, then this usually manifests itself through unusual changes in settings, configurations, and apps’ behavior. For example, signs could show up when trying to change date and time settings or trying to remove a pop-up message that appeared on your smartphone’s screen.
12. In Case You Notice Signs of Hacking
Hackers usually create software tools to exploit vulnerabilities to gain superuser rights (known as rooting) or access hidden background services whose existence is unknown to the average smartphone owner. Since hackers can control entire smartphones after gaining access to them, it is recommended that you contact your service carrier for more information on how they can help you deal with signs of compromising or suspicious software.
Remember: Many people simply ignore the paranoid warning about hacking and malware when they see “signs” like this in their Android settings, but what if it’s just some glitch? Some of these red flags are easily explained by common problems, so don’t jump to conclusions too quickly!
Also read: How to Become An Ethical Hacker and Get Your Dream Job
