How do you remove virus in iPhone?

Answer 1

So far there are only two known viruses that affect the iPhone. One is named iKee, and they only affect jailbroken iPhones that still have the default root password, which allows ssh and terminal access to the devices filesystem. If you have jailbroken your iPhone and have not changed the root pass then you can read the tutorial in Cydia on how to do this or restore your device to factory settings.

Answer 2

The device can be scanned for viruses, however there are no applications currently created that allow you to do this automatically. There are several reasons for this that I will explain later. The comment that they do not have hard drives and therefore cannot get viruses is also incorrect. Viruses (nowadays generally when we refer to viruses we mean malware of any kind and from now on I will use these terms interchangeably) can infect all kinds of devices from routers (known as router hijacking) to PC's

Malware is indeed something that can infect your iPhone, however only in certain scenarios.

If you use an out the box iPhone and make no modifications to it (jailbreak it etc) then the likely-hood of a virus is so minimal that there would be no reason to scan your iPhone for viruses. Within Apples walled garden of applications, apple has already verified that the apps available are free from any malicious code. Also I don't personally know of any iPhone viruses that can be transmitted via Bluetooth or WiFi. This of course may change in the future, however, at the time of writing this is correct (02-06-2010). Since this is the case, there is no incentive for anti-malware companies to create a scanning application.

If however you jailbreak your phone and install an application manager such as "Cydia" and "Installous" (these are 2 well known application repositories - installous being the hackulo.us repo) then you are opening yourself up to viruses on your iPhone. While the risk is still extremely small, it still a risk and as such you should take care when using these repositories for applications. Indeed the installous application includes with it a "hackulous security" package by default which tries its best to protect you from malware. Since the creators of these packages are worried about malware, then so should you be.

Again let me clarify that the risk is still small at the time of writing but this is only going to increase in time for repositories such as these, which are unofficial and arguably badly maintained when compared to the paid for app store from apple.

Again because the kind of people using these repositories are doing so because the applications are free, there is no incentive for an antivirus company to create a paid for virus scanner, since people using these repos are unlikely to actually want to buy software anyway.

Its a catch 22 situation, if you don't pay for your apps you will need a virus scanner of some sort, but there wont be one (why create one for free) and if you pay for your apps then you dont need one (you are in apples walled garden).

Since the iPhone OS is very secure by default, this situation may take month to change (or even years?) so don't expect a virus scanner for your iPhone in the near future.

However if you are sufficiently expert in using Linux, then you should have no problem using an application that allows you to view the file system on your iPhone and review it for any suspicious files. "File viewer" is one such application, or you could use "terminal". However the process of checking every directory is tedious and a manual process. You would also need to know what you were doing as deleting an incorrect file would leave your iPhone unbootable, and it would need to be restored to be fixed resulting in you losing all your unsynced data.

My advice is very simple to anyone worried about viruses on their iPhone.

If you don't want to get a virus then only use the official app store and pay for your apps.

If you are not worried about getting viruses and having to reload your phone from scratch, then you can risk using these dodgy and illegal repos, however you will also be voiding your warranty since jailbreaking is not allowed. (This is not possible to detect if you wipe your phone before sending it in though as other sites have already pointed out).

Please note I have only touched briefly on the legal and ethical issues surrounding using a jailbreak on your iPhone. If you jailbreak your phone then this is a personal choice and please don't go and do so simply because of any information you read here. Jailbreaking is well known so I speak candidly of it only because it is common knowledge to most iPhone users. I do not wish to be associated with any illegal activity that you may take based on what you read here.

Answer 3

Yes, like any laptop or computer, but Apple has lots of safety measures to protect it. Jailbreaking would void those measures.

Further information:

iPhones and other Apple devices such as iPads are extremely vulnerable to viruses. There are no decent programmes like Kaspersky to protect users. Be as vigilant with your iPhone as you would be with any other device - possibly even more so.

Answer 4

My iPhone 4 s keeps getting blocked buy an add to buy a hotspot shield On both my Gooble Chrome app and my safari app and I cannot get past it, what do i do to get rid of it? They say you cannot get a virus on an iPhone, this sure looks like one.

Answer 5

Yes. An Australian did it today...

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,1,26329148-5014239,00.html