A friend has an iPhone and is getting pop-ups saying he has viruses

[jnelsoninjax]

I know nothing at all about iOS, but my buddy has an iPhone and he says that he gets these random pop-ups saying he has a virus. I had him install Adguard and it is blocking lots of things, but he is still getting the pop-ups. He said it is not specific to any app, it just happens. Can anybody suggest what he can do next? Thanks

[+Warwagon MVC]

Sounds like a notification in one of their web browsers.

[jnelsoninjax]

On 29/12/2023 at 16:14, Warwagon said:

Sounds like a notification in one of their web browsers.

I asked him that and he said it happens all over, but he also mentioned that he watches streaming football via an app and that he was geting lots of pop-ups there, regardless of where they are coming from, Adguard should stop them, at least in therory. Short of telling him to do a factory reset, I don't know what else to advise.

[Barney T. Administrators]

I agree with Warwagon in that my iPhones sometimes have pop-ups from web browsers that are clearly fake virus warnings. iPhones do not get viruses in the traditional sense, because all of the apps are closely monitored by the Apple store. They are mostly through websites.  HERE is an article that you can pass on:

 

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 29/12/2023 at 21:56, jnelsoninjax said:

I asked him that and he said it happens all over, but he also mentioned that he watches streaming football via an app and that he was geting lots of pop-ups there, regardless of where they are coming from, Adguard should stop them, at least in therory. Short of telling him to do a factory reset, I don't know what else to advise.

I might be wrong, but I don't think that AdGuard would prevent adverts being served from an app.

Where did he get the streaming app from? Can he uninstall it for a bit to see if the popup stops?

Also, would it be possible to see a screenshot of the popup?

[Jim K Global Moderator]

sketchy app?  Watching sports through websites (or an app) with less than legal ways?

[jnelsoninjax]

On 31/12/2023 at 06:12, Nick H. said:

I might be wrong, but I don't think that AdGuard would prevent adverts being served from an app.

Where did he get the streaming app from? Can he uninstall it for a bit to see if the popup stops?

Also, would it be possible to see a screenshot of the popup?

When I used Adguard it blocked in app ads, as for a screenshot, I can ask him if he knows how to do that.

On 31/12/2023 at 06:34, Jim K said:

sketchy app?  Watching sports through websites (or an app) with less than legal ways?

I'd guess an app, he had no idea what he is doing with cellphones/computers

[d5aqoëp]

It’s always some app serving those ads via push notifications 

[+Matthew S. Subscriber²]

Is the phone Jailbroken by chance?

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

I had this problem with an older phone, and as soon as I deleted one app, was q-reader, stopped sending me pop-ups. Might want to look that up