Is this some sort of malware or virus?
Is this some sort of malware or virus?
Hi, I got a PDF from a local company that had a new year greetings card inside. After opening it, I noticed something suspicious. I’m trying to figure out if it’s malware and whether it installed anything on my phone. I also saw this around the time I opened the file. Is this a problem? What should I do to check and remove it?
Thank you for your reply. It seems you're not concerned about any background installations on your phone, and you didn't agree to any permission requests.
Android’s permission setup severely restricts what you can do, unless you’ve unlocked your device. Otherwise, everything seems uncertain. Only native system applications—those signed by the manufacturer—can install other apps without asking for special user approval. Even system apps that need OS authorization (listed in their manifest) must go through the usual process. Once installed, the system will ask for confirmation. Starting with Android 8 (or newer), the app must request permission before prompting you. This means it can only ask if you’ve previously granted access. Such a feature applies only to apps that explicitly declare the needed permissions in their manifest. A PDF reader is unlikely to meet these requirements.
Thanks for your detailed feedback. It seems checking files with Avast didn’t detect anything, even though it ran clean. You might want to try scanning in a different folder or using another tool like Malwarebytes. It’s possible some malware avoids detection depending on how it’s structured.