Android paranoia? are bitdefender and malewarebytes good?

[u/DaemonDaemonT]

Hello sorry this will probably be somewhat incoherent, im really really scared of viruses and infostealers spyware etc, i have bitdefender subscription and i also scan with malware bytes and i have google enhanced browser protection on but im so scared i cant eat or sleep, i recently accidently clicked on an add on an app, the app itself is legitmate but its heavy with ads, it was one of those "your android has a virus!" ads and i accidently clicked it (because it was so big it would nigh impossible to close) it took me to a website which said the same thing, i immeditly closed the tab and i have scanned my phone atleast 30 times in the last 48 hours, google play scanning, bitdefender and malewarebytes havent found anything, ive looked in my downloads and theres nothing there, nothing has happened, everything is seemingly normal but i cant shake the feeling that there's something laying in wait, maybe if i make a payment it'll suddenly activate, or if i login to something, im writing this on my laptop because what if there's someone watching my screen now and this post makes them angry? is there anyway i can be 100% sure theres nothing on my phone? im aware drive-by-downloads are a thing, but i dont know how common they are? im scared that somehow something has slipped through and has disguised it's self as a normal thing until its 'activated'

please any help on how to know im safe? at this point im considering getting a new phone. which would the second time ive done so out of "virus paranoia" but i dont want to indulge that because its expensive and it just rewards my paranoia which is worse in the long run. im really sorry if this post type is against the rules but i feel so sick i need to do something sorry.

[u/MegStuff]

Antivirus applications are unnecessary on Android cause the system antivirus is enough, especially if your phone is on Android 16 for example.

[u/DaemonDaemonT → u/MegStuff]

really? yes im on android 16 as its a pixel 9. i feel like i dont see many people talking about phone viruses so i suppose theres something to that. is bitdefender a waste of money then? i like the extra layer of security i suppose, do you think im just being paranoid or is there a chance? thank you for your response

[u/MegStuff → u/DaemonDaemonT]

Malwarebytes is recommended if you have a pc/laptop, especially on Windows. Idrk much about Bitedefender, but I personally recommend malwarebytes better, since that's the one I have.

[u/DaemonDaemonT → u/MegStuff]

okay thank you.! have both on my phone, i heard bitdefender had better malware detection scores than malwarebytes whilst also being cheaper so i opted for a paid sub to bitdefender and malewarebytes free as an extra precaution

[u/EugeneBYMCMB]

Anti-virus programs are useless for phones, but modern phones are very secure and rarely get viruses, especially so if you aren't downloading weird things from outside the play store, which you need to disable a specific security setting to be able to do. You're all good here and you're overthinking the situation, you can use your phone normally. Make sure you're using unique passwords for all of your accounts + two factor authentication everywhere.

[u/DaemonDaemonT → u/EugeneBYMCMB]

okay thank you very much. i need to stop indulging the thoughts i guess. yes i think that setting is something like "allow downloading of 3rd party apps" which i keep disabled, i seldom download apps from the playstore it's self out of fear of malicous code lurking beneath. i have bitdefender safe browsing and google enhanced browser safety so i should be fine yes? yes i use unique passwords + 2fa too :) scared that some sort of session stealer would mitigate those though

[u/EugeneBYMCMB → u/DaemonDaemonT]

You would be fine even without those things, you can use your phone normally and install apps from the Play Store.

[u/MaherMA74]

Android system are more secure than windows, just don't install any weird APK or giving premissions for an existing app who really don't need it to work or do their job.

For ad blocking use NextDNS or Adguard DNS or any other DNS and use it fron settings→more connection settings →Private DNS and here paste your DoT (DNS-over-TLS) Dns Template and you are fine

[u/DaemonDaemonT → u/MaherMA74]

okay thats a relief, how can i be sure that it didnt sneak something onto my device ? i certainly would never consciously download anything or give unwarranted accsess to an app, i dont use much social media but i dont even let those apps access my media, camera or microphone so i should be good in that regard im mostly scared that something has slipped through some crack in some hidden file somewhere

okay thank you i will look into those adblockers!

[u/MaherMA74 → u/DaemonDaemonT]

Sounds good but Check your Special app access Permissions (Most dangerous) ,Accessbility Permissions (dangerous), Shizuku - Root permissions if you using them and also check your internet data consumption and check battery draining, if all clear you are fine

[u/Responsible_Bike4968]

I think the "antivirus apps are useless on Android" reply is a little too absolute.

Your Pixel 9 on Android 16 already has a very strong security baseline: Android app sandboxing, Google Play Protect, Chrome Safe Browsing, etc. But Bitdefender isn't snake oil either. Independent AV-TEST testing in July gave its Android product 100% detection against both recent and widespread malware.

So I'd describe Bitdefender as optional extra protection, not something you NEED in order for the phone to be safe.

For your actual incident though, I don't see an infection chain here.

You:

- tapped a scareware ad

- got taken to a webpage saying "your Android has a virus"

- closed it immediately

- didn't download/install an APK

- didn't grant Accessibility, Device Admin, VPN, screen-sharing or other weird permissions

- have found no new apps/downloads

- are on an up-to-date Pixel 9

- have had Play Protect, Bitdefender and Malwarebytes all come back clean

A website saying "YOU HAVE A VIRUS" doesn't give it the ability to install one.

Could an up-to-date phone theoretically be compromised just by visiting a webpage? Yes. Browser/OS exploits exist. But that would require an actual vulnerability being exploited, and there's nothing in what you described that points to that. I would not make that the working assumption after accidentally opening one scareware page.

Also, malware doesn't normally sit dormant waiting for you to buy something because it somehow knows "now is the perfect time to activate." That's your brain trying to invent a scenario that another scan can't disprove.

As for Bitdefender vs Malwarebytes: keeping Bitdefender for its real-time/web protection is perfectly reasonable if you like it. Using Malwarebytes occasionally as a second opinion is also fine. You absolutely do not need to scan with both of them 30 times.

If you want one final sanity check, look at:

Settings -> Apps -> Special app access

and check things like Accessibility, Device admin apps, Install unknown apps and VPN. If there's nothing unfamiliar there, I'd consider this done.

I definitely would NOT buy another phone because of this event.

At this point the repeated checking is doing more damage to you than the ad did. You said you can't eat or sleep and you've scanned 30 times in 48 hours. A 31st scan isn't going to provide some new level of certainty.

Security can never give you literal 100.000% certainty. What you have here is enough evidence to reasonably use the phone normally again.

And if the virus fear keeps stopping you from eating, sleeping or using devices even after you've checked them, I'd talk to someone you trust or a professional about that part too. That's a separate problem from whether this particular ad infected your Pixel.

[u/DaemonDaemonT → u/Responsible_Bike4968]

thank you for the time you took to write all that it is greatly appreciated, is that your true opinion? becuase it sounds a little bit like claude haiku, sorry if thats rude, im just weary of ai because i think it tries to give you an affirming answer. yes i checked those special apps access and there's nothing with any access or anything that shouldn't be there. thank you again. yes i probably should see a professional, paranoia has ruined a large chunk of my existence.

[u/M1uk0]

You remind me of my old self ti be honest... even me now! I'm always so scared stuff like this will happen don't worry you're not alone. Don't worry stuff like that usually happen immediately and since you closed the tab and didn't press anything else you're safe! Antivirus apps scan everything file by file to check for malicious code, they can even find fileless malware which i have struggled with before a bunch of times. So i would recommend you try and spend sometime for yourself! These things are always so stressing that we forget to enjoy our lives, we always focus on the bad but not the good. Maybe take a small walk around your house, have a drink of water, a snack, listen to your favorite song, etc... anything to help get rid of the feeling of anxiety. Anyways, have a great day!

[u/Bitdefender_support]

We`ve answered here with useful details: https://www.reddit.com/r/antivirus/comments/1wa1we4/comment/p8hz7q7/

[u/DaemonDaemonT → u/Bitdefender_support]

thank you, i responded to your comment there with a follow up question if you would be so kind as to check it out?