Fix the “Your System Is Infected with (4) Viruses” Warning

What is Four virus on Android?

Four virus or “(4) virus” isn’t a virus at all. Instead, it’s a social engineering scam — a psychological trick some hackers use to make you panic and convince you that your phone is infected or damaged when it's not. Social engineering scams like this try to get you to download potentially dangerous programs, disclose your personal data, spend money on something useless, and more.  

What hurts the most is that Four virus warnings will never bother you unless you invite them yourself. In other words, this nuisance generally infects your Android device when you install browser add-ons or extensions.  

So to be more precise, the Four virus is a browser hijacker that uses social engineering to achieve its purposes.  

What does a typical Four virus attack look like?

After the hijacker infiltrates your device, it starts bombarding your browser with fake warnings, saying that your system is infected with (4) viruses. A pop-up further explains that your phone is 28.1 damaged from recent visits to adult sites. It then urges you to install a recommended antivirus solution.  

Even though this looks like a message from an antivirus solution, it’s not. Real antivirus applications aren’t this invasive, they don’t speculate on how your phone got infected, and they definitely don’t just randomly appear.  

So how can you get rid of the Four virus browser hijacker? Let’s find out below.

How to remove the Four virus warning from Android

First of all, whatever you do, don’t press the Repair Fast Now button. Yes, it looks like a tempting and easy solution, but that’s exactly what these cybercriminals want you to do. If you tap the button, you risk downloading even more malicious apps or software, making it easier for hackers to access your data.  

Instead, here’s what we suggest you do.  

Uninstall suspicious app

Any browser hijacker is essentially just an app installed on your device. Four virus is no exception, so getting rid of it is often as simple as uninstalling an Android app. But here’s the rub: sometimes, you can’t simply delete a malicious app because it has administrator privileges. So, to remove an app, you need to do this:  

1. Close your browser
2. Open Settings
3. Open Security
4. Open Device Administrators
5. Uncheck the box next to any strange-looking app or apps that you don’t remember installing
6. Confirm the deactivation when a pop-up window appears
7. Go back to Settings and open Apps
8. Scroll down to the malware app or apps and tap Uninstall

To check whether this has worked, open your browser and see if the pop-up appears. If your warnings still haven’t gone away, move to the next option.

Clear browsing data

If the pop-up still appears, the problem could lie in the temporary files of the browser you’re using, not a malicious app. To delete temporary files on Chrome:  

1. Open Chrome and tap More (the three vertical dots at the top right)
2. Tap History and then Clear browsing data
3. Choose a time range if you want to preserve some data. Alternatively, you can tap All time if you don’t know exactly when the hijacker arrived on your device
4. Tick the boxes for Cookies and site data and Cached images and files
5. Tap Clear Data  

Finally, restart your phone and open the browser to check that the problem has been solved.  

Prevent the Four virus warning from endangering your device

Why struggle with annoying pop-ups and risk installing browser hijackers at all if you can block them in the first place? A reliable antivirus solution makes it easy to get rid of different kinds of malware and prevents them from infiltrating your device.  

With Clario's all-in-one security solution, setting up an antivirus takes just a few clicks:  

1. Install Clario
2. Run a malware scan
3. Turn on Real-time antivirus

And that’s it! No more annoying pop-ups or fake warnings to worry about: just real peace of mind when you’re surfing.  

* * *

Exposure to online dangers is an inevitable part of using the internet. Fake warning messages and unexpected pop-ups are two things that cybercriminals use to trick you into downloading malware and sharing your data.

Being aware of the dangers and steering clear of suspicious online content are essential, but even the most cautious person can sometimes fall for a phishing link. Luckily, with a strong antivirus program, you can be sure that your device is protected whatever happens.

Keep reading:

• How to Stop Unwanted Calls on Android & iPhone
• What Is Malvertising and How Can You Protect Yourself From It?
• FBI Virus Removal Guide for Android Devices