APPLE’S iPhone Operating System, or iOS, has a reputation for being watertight and nearly impossible to crack.
The tech giant withholds its source code from developers, making it more difficult for malicious actors to find vulnerabilities.
However, jailbreaking your phone, or breaking open the file system and escaping the confines of iOS, puts you at risk of infection.
People jailbreak their phones to allow further customization beyond what Apple permits. This includes changing icons and downloading apps from third-party sources.
Generally downloading anything without verifying its identity first can pose a problem. This includes email and text attachments, which may contain viruses that silently wreak havoc on your phone.
While some malware can be easy to miss, there are red flags to look out for.
One of the first is a phone that overheats when you use it for everyday tasks.
An “infected” phone will grow warmer as it uses more processing power to run malicious scripts hidden in the phone’s code.
Another telltale sign is a substantial increase in data usage, seemingly without warning. You can check which apps have been eating up more data than others under Cellular Data in Settings.
Increased memory and data usage go hand in hand with dwindling battery life. Power draining faster than normal could indicate your iPhone is infected with a virus.
Malware can also cause apps to crash repeatedly while trying to use them.
Also, keep an eye out for any unexpected content appearing on your phone.
Pop-ups may indicate that your iPhone is infected with malware.
They usually appear as you browse the internet, and while they may be more indicative of a sketchy website than an infected phone, they could also be a bad omen.
Ironically, the pop-ups may urge you to download antivirus software – which may contain yet another virus in disguise.
Similarly, if you spot an app on your iPhone and do not recall downloading it, this could be a sign of a virus.
You can temporarily halt a virus in its tracks by restarting your phone. Hold the power button and top volume button on your iPhone until you see “Slide to Power Off.”
Once the screen goes black, press down on the power button to turn your phone back on. This is called a force restart.
After the phone powers back on, comb through your apps, files, and downloads and remove any you don’t recognize.
The only way to ensure a virus is gone is to perform a factory reset, which wipes all existing data from the phone.
It is important to regularly back up your iPhone to have something to restore it with in case your data is lost.
iCloud does this by default, but you can manually back up your device by connecting it to your computer.
While Apple’s iPhone Operating System has a reputation of being safe, you could always take steps to be even safer. Here’s what Mackenzie Tatananni, Science and Technology Reporter at The U.S. Sun, has to say.
One of the easiest ways to avoid being hacked is to download the latest software updates, which usually contain patches to fix vulnerabilities.
You can also keep your iPhone up to date with the most recent software by turning on automatic updates.
When searching for software, apps, or really anything to download onto your iPhone, only look to trusted sources.
The official App Store is just one example – applications in there have all been vetted by Apple as opposed to those from a third-party source.
You should also exercise caution when downloading text or email attachments.
Do not click on suspicious attachments or links if you haven’t confirmed where they come from.
They can inject malware onto your phone or nab your personal information under the guise of being from a trusted source, like a bank or employer.
To take steps to protect your data from interception, refrain from connecting to public WiFi networks.
If you must, be sure to use a Virtual Private Network, or VPN – there are tons of options in the App Store.
