Can An Androids Phone Or Tablets Be Infected With Malware/Virus?

[Terminal_Boy]

Panicked older friend just called telling me he opened a scam email by mistake on an Android device and clicked on the link inside.

He hasn’t downloaded anything nor entered any information on the page it took him to.

I’m 99% certain he’s done no harm as such scams are aimed at Windows users, but I‘m not an Android user and would welcome wisdom from those who are.

What’s the go-to programme/app for checking Android devices for such infections?

 

[Schizophonic]

Depending on the target audience, it can vary if the malware / virus is targeting a Windows Device, MacOS, Apple iphone or even Android.
I wouldn't risk it but download a couple of the well done malware software like malwarebytes, avg and etc. Most come with loads of paywall to 'upgrade' but as long as you run the basic scan to find anything then its going to be fine.

Also make sure in the systemOS settings the security patches and updates are the latest to combat any incoming viruses and etc.

My mums phone had a weird experience where it would come up with a 'no tag collected' message and she explained she clicked on a link in a whatsapp group. I ran the scans and it all came back clean. Turns out to be a android functionality to do with the NFC just responding to a near by tag.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Turns out the friend’s devices had Avast Pro installed and it found 0 threats when deep scanned.

OS fully updated and patched. No new apps/app install attempts seen.

Have warned him to keep an eye out for any abnormal behaviour/performance decreases.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Orcvader]

As long as they didn't get a prompt to download and install and app, it should be mainly fine. There's also Google Play Protect built in to Google Play Services which regularly scans your phone, but only for apps and not files and other things.