And it becomes even more problematic when these ads actually lead you to new apps either paid or free. You might have carelessly or accidentally clicked on the ads, but these will end up infecting your Android a lot more than you could imagine. Most times clicking on these tabs ensures unwanted new tabs opened in our browser or unwanted files downloaded in our phone, which is not only inconvenient but dangerous as well as most these unknown downloads might harm your device. You also would be left without a resort in case you have children at home which means your device will always have unknown, random ads getting clicked on (well, you can not actually teach children to not click on these things all the time). In such conditions, it is always better to opt for the paid versions of the apps as these free, unpaid versions are too big an inconvenience to suffer.
However, as more and more people learn to not click on these unnecessary ads, the plot has thickened. Now, you might have faced ads not only while using a particular app but also browsing your device idly – these are actually apps that come together with ad network. It is a smart and latest way developed by Ad network developers to get people click on random ads. You might find ads causing notifications or alerts even when you are not running an app. In the following article, we are going to discuss these spam ads and how you can actually get rid of them and make your Android safer –
Push Notification Ads
One of the most useful features of an Android phone are the push notifications or alerts that we get while using the phone. It is a great way to know if we have gotten a new text or a mail, even when we are not using that particular app. This feature basically makes sure the app is in the background and keeps on checking for updates. It is absolutely necessary that some of the apps on Android keep doing this and sending notifications which in turn keeps us updated. This feature can also be used by apps to notify a customer if there is a new update to install or other sort of basic notifications.
However, these notifications become an annoyance when some apps abuse this amazing feature of Android by manipulating the customer in clicking on ads and other such links. This is a pathetic way to sell anything and almost borders on illegal marketing. Let’s say you click on a notification which says app update alert but is in fact a link to get you signed up for a completely unrelated service costing you moolah. You may note that AirPush and GoLive Mobile were in fact brought lawsuit against them for allegedly doing that.
Icon Spam Ads
This was hands down one of the worst spamming methods. It is nowadays banned on Google Play, but in case you are using an older version of an app from a third party store, you might have witnessed it. This type of spam will cause an icon to pop up on your home screen which actually would just look like you have downloaded an app. But you would not have – this happens because you must have downloaded an app (in past) which came bundled with an ad network – creating these icons appear on your homescreen. The span of this spam was so powerful that some of these icons, which are nothing but ads in fact, would have Market written on them, indicating to be Google Play Market. But when you click on them, you would surely not be directed there. You would have to delete such apps/icons/ads one by one or delete the main app that basically is linked with the ad network causing these spammy icons to appear on your screen.
Getting Rid of Spamming Apps
You can try ad blocking software like AirPush Detector or Lookout Ad Network detector to get rid of such spams. These will delete crappy apps for you, and also detect any further spamming apps, notifying you and guiding you on the way out. We would suggest you to delete all such apps personally. You may find other such ad blocking apps as well on PlayStore. It is highly recommended that you go through the reviews and comments prior to downloading apps so you can save yourself from the spam attack. Even while downloading these ad blockers, make sure you do not get any shady apps with ad networks linked. Some of these apps might also ask you to root your phone, which you would have to do if the spamming is persistent and problematic.
Let us know how you take care of your Android from spamming attacks.
