When I worked at the Apple Store, I used to tell people that iPhones can't get viruses, but that
isn't exactly true. In this video, we'll explain why iPhones get infected, how to remove a virus
from your iPhone, and why iPhone viruses might become a lot more common in the very near future.
The first thing to watch out for are public charging stations. They can be
infected with viruses because you don't know who's on the other end
of that cable or what they'll do after you tap "Trust This Device".
Next, configuration profiles like the ones used by legitimate schools
and businesses can be abused and act like viruses on your iPhone.
The next is malvertising: malicious advertising that can infect your
iPhone if you click on a link and that link installs an app on your iPhone.
Next up is public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi networks are less secure than your Wi-Fi at home, making
it easier for hackers to intercept your data and potentially infect your iPhone with a virus.
One of the most common ways iPhones get viruses is jailbreaking. Jailbreaking
removes the safeguards built into iOS, but surprise, those safeguards are actually
there to help you. Jailbroken apps can do things like record your phone calls
or steal all of the photos on your iPhone. Just use your imagination; it's not good.
There really isn't a reason to jailbreak your iPhone anymore,
so if you have one, put it back in jail and lock it up for good.
Next up is third-party app stores, prevalent among jailbreakers, but you still might be able
to access one even if your phone isn't jailbroken. But if your iPhone isn't jailbroken, you still
need to be aware of iOS security vulnerabilities like the one we saw with iOS 16.3.1.
It allowed hackers to run code with kernel privileges on everybody's iPhone. That means
it could do pretty much anything. Each of these things could infect your iPhone with a virus,
malware, or ransomware. What's the difference? David, malware is any type of software that's
designed to intentionally cause harm to your iPhone. Malicious wear software malware can
be used to steal your data, corrupt or change your files without your knowledge,
and a whole lot more. A virus is a specific type of malware that replicates itself by infecting
other files on a computer, or in this case, your iPhone. Ransomware is a different kind of malware
where a bad guy encrypts your data and won't give you access to it until you pay a ransom. It's also
used as a form of blackmail where the hacker will threaten to release your data or your sensitive
photos if you don't pay that ransom. Think of the episode "Shut Up and Dance" from Black Mirror.
Now that you know how iPhones get viruses, let's talk about some of the signs your iPhone actually
has a virus. The first is the apps you didn't install. Let's open Settings, scroll down,
tap General, tap iPhone Storage, and here you'll see a list of all the apps installed on your
iPhone. If you see one you didn't install, tap on it, then tap Delete App, then tap Delete App.
Next up, configuration profiles. A configuration profile is a single file that sets up your iPhone
in a very specific way, and they're used by legitimate businesses and schools all over
the world, but they can be abused. To check for a configuration profile on your iPhone,
tap back to the General Settings, scroll down, and tap VPN and Device Management,
and here you'll see configuration profiles. We have the Beta Profile,
but if you see something weird like "Subscribe to our Channel" as a profile file that you
didn't install, tap on that profile, then tap Remove Profile and enter your passcode.
Another sign your iPhone has a virus is increased data usage. It's possible
some bad app or some bad program on your iPhone is sending your data somewhere else.
Let's head back to the main page of Settings. Scroll up and then tap Cellular and then
scroll down to your list of apps and see if anything stands out. Is there a scary-looking
app using a ton of data on your iPhone? That could be a sign you have a virus.
The next thing to watch out for is if your iPhone battery is draining fast or your iPhone's heating
up, which can be signs that a sketchy program is always running in the background. However,
these can both be signs of a software problem and most of the time it will
be a software problem. It's also normal for your iPhone to heat up
and the battery to drain fast if you're playing a 3D game like Engine Impact.
Before we talk about what to do if your iPhone has a virus, we need to ask ourselves:
Is it really a virus or is it just Spam? One of the most common ways spammers are
getting into our iPhones these days is through the Calendar app. You click on
a link and all of a sudden it redirects you to subscribe to some sketchy calendar.
Back to the main page of iPhone Settings. Scroll down
and tap Calendar, then tap Accounts and look for any suspicious calendars on your iPhone,
like "Hot Singles in Your Area". If you see something like that,
tap on it and then tap "Delete Account", tap "Delete from My iPhone". You might also see
subscribed calendars in the list as a folder. Click on that and remove those calendars too.
Another thing that's not really a virus is when you see a pop-up on your iPhone that
says something like "Virus Detected on iPhone" or "Your Apple ID has been infected". It's a lie
designed to scare you into clicking the link and then giving away your personal
information. Don't click the link. Instead, go to the main page of the Settings app on your iPhone.
Scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll down to "Clear History and Website Data". Tap on that,
then tap "Clear History and Data", and then make sure to select "Close Tabs" when you do.
If you did click a link and enter your password, go to that account and change your password
immediately. Hopefully, you haven't used that password on other accounts, because sometimes
that's how they get access to all of your accounts. And if you gave up some really sensitive
personal information, like your Social Security number, you got to get in touch with the FTC.
They've got a hotline you can call 1-877-ID-Theft or visit their website ftc.gov/idtheft.
Links in the description section below.
Let's talk about how to avoid getting an iPhone virus.
The first — have we beaten this point to death?
Don't jailbreak your iPhone - we say it because it's important. We won't walk you
through how to jailbreak your iPhone, but we do have PDFs for our channel
members with all of the settings we recommend turning on and off. Click
that big join button below this video to get access to those and a whole lot more.
One of the most important things you can do to prevent yourself from getting an iPhone virus
is to always keep your iPhone up to date. Let's head back to the main page of Settings, scroll up,
and tap General. Then tap Software Update and, if an update is available,
tap Download and Install. But wait, we're not done yet. Then tap Automatic Updates at the
top of the screen and make sure the switch next to Security Responses and System Files is on.
Next up, make sure you always have a backup of your iPhone. While it might not prevent you from
getting a virus in the first place, it's always important to have a backup of your data in case it
does get one. You can quickly back up your iPhone to iCloud. Go back to the main page of Settings,
scroll up, and tap on your Apple ID at the top of the screen. Tap iCloud, tap iCloud Backup,
and make sure the switch next to Backup This iPhone is on. Then tap Backup Now.
Next up, trust your gut. Don't click links on sketchy websites or apps. You didn't win a $100
Amazon gift card, and your Apple ID hasn't been compromised - sorry. It's not true.
I wish my Apple ID had not been compromised. I think more about the Amazon gift card.
Another thing you shouldn't do is leave your iPhone unattended in public. If you do that,
somebody could pop something into the Lightning
Port of your phone and install some bad software, giving your iPhone a virus.
We mentioned this one too, but it's important:
be very careful with public charging stations. If you do have to use one,
don't click the "Trust this device" pop-up. You also shouldn't use third-party app stores. Apple
builds in a lot of safeguards to the native App Store to protect you. They actually review every
single app for malicious code. That doesn't mean that a few don't get past the goaltender.
Apple also sandbox apps, which means every app lives in its own little walled sandbox,
so it can't access other apps or other data on your iPhone unless you give it
permission. So, when you see the "This app is requesting access to your photos" pop-up,
that's letting it outside of the sandbox.
You should also turn on two-factor authentication to help prevent your Apple ID from being hacked.
Let's step back to our Apple ID settings, tap on Password & Security, and look at two-factor
authentication. If it's off, turn it on. If it's on, leave it on. You can take this
one step further with security keys. Check out our video in the card up above to learn more.
I'm looking into my crystal ball and I can see now that one of the most common comments we're
going to receive on this video is a question asking, "Should I install antivirus software?"
Although we could probably turn a profit if we told you yes, the true answer is no:
you do not need antivirus software on your iPhone. Some people say that if you
jailbreak you should get antivirus software, but the truth is that the antivirus software
probably isn't going to be able to scan the jailbroken files anyway because that's going
to be in the sandbox. The jailbroken files are not in the sandbox, so it's just pointless.
Before we talk about the reason why iPhone viruses might become a lot more common,
let's talk about the Big Fix. If your iPhone does have a virus, the DFU restore—DFU stands
for Device Firmware Update—takes every single line of code off of your iPhone and puts it back on,
so there's no more virus, there's no more nothing on your iPhone. Then, you want to
restore from a backup, probably. It's unlikely the virus will come back with that update,
but if it does, you can always just DFU restore your phone again and not restore from that backup.
Doing a restore is a little bit tricky; there's a link to our DFU walkthrough video in the
card up above and in the description section below. It's time we talk about side loading,
and thanks to the European Union, Apple may allow for side loading with iOS 17.
What the heck is side loading? Side loading gives your iPhone access to
third-party app stores, which up until now Apple hasn't allowed.
Why don't they allow it? Apple likes money; they like that Walled Garden;
they like that 30 percent fee they take from App developers. The concern here is
that these third-party app stores might not put all the apps inside of them through the
same vetting process that Apple does with their own native app store. We'll keep
an eye on it and make a video all about side loading if that comes to iPhone with iOS 17.
So, while it's not impossible for an iPhone to get a virus,
it is a lot less likely than on other devices like Windows computers. However,
it is very possible for your iPhone to be tracked. Check out our next video to
learn about the signs your iPhone is being tracked right now and how you can stop it.
Let's open Settings, scroll down, and tap General. Tap iPhone Storage and
you'll see a list of all the apps currently taking up storage space
on your iPhone. If you see one you didn't install, tap on it and then tap Delete App.