Remove SOCA Virus from Android Phone, Tablet or iPad

Last night, I used my tablet to find some funny video in a website, then I clicked a link on the page which I though can redirect me to another video. But I realized that after I click the link, there was something downloading on the background on my tablet, and I tried to stop it but I can’t, after it was downloaded, it installed automatically, after that a page from SOCA came out and I was shocked! On the page, it claims that I have broken laws for watching illegal porn or something bad, and it asks me to pay a fine, otherwise I will get into trouble with the police, also, it tells me that I need to pay the fine so that I can unlock my tablet. Is it real? Should I pay the fine as soon as possible? What should I do?

Brief Introduction to This Virus

When you get this SOCA warning on your Android phone, tablet or iPad, please keep calm first, it is not a real warning from police. It is categorized to be a ransomware virus that can attack innocent people from the Internet. Nowadays, cyber hackers have transferred their main targets from computers to mobile devices as phones and tablets have become an important part for people’s daily life. Phones and tablets with Android systems and IOS systems can be easily attacked by cyber hackers as they are commonly used by people all over the world. When people get this SOCA virus on their devices, they will be blocked from using the device as the warning can occupy the whole screen that people cannot bypass it or close it. In order to unlock the device, people are required to pay a fine on the page, but it is totally fake, so people must not pay their money to this page as it is a virus made by cyber criminals.

Similar Scam Viruses Screenshots on Android Device

To make this SOCA virus looks more legit and real, cyber hackers can decorate the warning with police logo and list the laws that users have violated. It is only a trick that hackers use to threaten innocent people to convince that the warning is from the real authority which can force people to pay the fine willingly. However, under no circumstance, should people pay the so called fine as it will not help users to unlock the infected devices as the money goes straightly to the pockets of hackers. Many victims have fallen into this trap and still have their devices locked.

As a vicious infection, this SOCA virus can sneak into target devices with many ways. Usually, this thing can attack users if they go online carelessly on their devices from the websites. If people click any suspicious links on the web, they can have this infection downloaded on their devices automatically, as soon as it comes to the target machines, it can be installed without any operation. After it is installed, it will pop up the warning to block everything. No matter how many times users reboot their devices, this virus can pop up as soon as people see the desktop.

The Traits of the Infection

-Can lock the device and won’t let you do anything on it
-Tells you that you must pay for the violation of law by using MoneyPak or some other ways.
-You are charged for doing something illegal, but actually you didn’t.
-Tells you that your activities in this device have been recorded and your files have been encrypted.
-Your IP address and some basic information are listed on the page.

Finding all or some of these symptoms on your android device, sorry to say that your device is infected by SOCA Virus. Please contact YooSecurity Online Experts for manual removal guide.

Manual Removal Guide to Unlock Your Android Phone from Fake Police Warning (For Literate)

There is a removal guide provided here; however, expertise is required during the process of removal, please make sure you are capable to do it by yourself.

Step 1: Try to access the safe mode on the infected device.

What is safe mode on an android device? Just like the safe mode on Windows computers, the safe mode on android device is a diagnostic mode. It is intended to fix the issues that happen on the problematic device. In safe mode, the phone will reduce functionality. Typically, the safe mode loads as few executable modules as possible and disable all the non-core components to run. In one word, safe mode only runs the system without the third-party software.

How to get the safe mode on an android device?

There are too many brands of android devices in the world, so the way to get the safe mode can be various. We will only take a group of them as examples, if you can’t follow the tips to get the same mode on your device, please go online to find the right way to access the safe mode as the safe mode is premise to remove this infection from your device.

For Samsung Galaxy S4: 1. Power down. 2. Turn on and repeatedly tap the soft-button for “Menu.”

For Samsung Galaxy S3 and others: 1. Power down. 2. Turn on, then press and hold Volume Down (Galaxy S3 and others), Volume Up (HTC One and others), or Volume Down and Volume Up together (various Motorola devices) when the vendor’s logo appears.

If you have managed to select Safe Mode, you will see the text “Safe Mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen.

Step 2: If you can find “Safe Mode” on the left hand corner, that means your device is in safe mode already, please contact our expert for further removal instruction.

Conclusion:

Do not think this SOCA warning is from the real police. It is a malicious virus designed by cyber criminals who want to cheat people to send money to them. Paying the fine won’t help you unlock the device as it is a virus that saved on your system. If you want to get rid of this infection, all you need to do is to find this infection on your device and remove it. If you don’t remove this infection in time, your device can always be blocked from using.

Suggestion: To follow removal guide to get out of SOCA Virus that mentioned above, a quite level of knowledge is needed. Otherwise, the wrong operating on the safe mode can make the situation even worse. Please make sure you are capable of dealing with this. If not, please Contact online experts for help now!

Published by Tony Shepherd & last updated on August 5, 2015 5:37 am