FIX: Remove FBI Virus from Android
The FBI virus is the name commonly used to refer to any member of an entire family of ransomware. Ransomware is a form of malware designed to lock down any system it infects and ask the user to pay an entirely unnecessary and exorbitant fee (usually in the hundreds of dollars) through services like Ukash and MoneyPak to unlock the system. Ransomware made its debut in 2011 when it began infecting computers, and hackers have now managed to create ransomware that can even infect Android devices.
The reason everything from the Trojan Koler ransomware, which typically infects Android devices, to the Reveton ransomware, which infected computers back in 2011, is referred to as ‘the FBI virus’ is because when the ransomware locks a system down, it displays a notification stating that the system has been locked down by a law enforcement agency, such as the police or FBI, for violation of the law. The FBI virus infects Android devices when a malicious app equipped with the virus is downloaded. Since the FBI virus renders quite a percentage of the Android OS unusable, it can be extremely troublesome. The following are the most effective ways that can be used to remove the FBI virus from an Android device:
Method 1: Clear the browser’s cache and data.
If the FBI virus has infected the device in question through a malicious website, the go-to method for removing it will certainly be to eradicate every trace of it from the Browser.
1. Go to settings
2. Navigate to the device’s Application Manager.
3. Locate the default browser application for the device and tap on it.
4. Press ‘Clear Cache.’
5. Tap on ‘Clear Data’ and confirm the action.
6. Press ‘Force Stop’ and confirm the action.
7. Manually restart the application, and no trace of the virus will remain.
Method 2: Uninstall the Malicious Application.
1. Uninstalling the malicious application that has infected an Android device with the FBI virus almost always does the trick. First of all, to avoid the FBI virus lock screen and notification, the infected device needs to be booted into Safe Mode. The method of doing this varies from one device to another. Once the device has been booted into Safe Mode, the term ‘Safe Mode’ will appear on the bottom left corner of the screen.
2. Go to settings.
3. Navigate to the device’s Application Manager.
4. Locate and tap the malicious application.
5. Press “Uninstall.
6. Confirm the action.
Method 3: Reset the device to factory settings.
1. If uninstalling the malicious application does not remove the FBI virus from an Android device, the last resort – a method guaranteed to work – is to reset the device to factory settings. First and foremost, an individual should back up any data they don’t want to lose to a computer, as a factory reset wipes almost all of the data stored on a device’s onboard storage.
2. Navigate to the device’s Settings.
3. Find the device’s Backup and Reset settings.
4. Tap on ‘Factory Data Reset’ or a similar option.
5. Read the guidelines carefully and confirm the action.
6. Wait for the device to be reset to factory settings and rebooted; all traces of the malicious application and the ransomware itself will have been eliminated.
