11
If you see the message “Viruses have been detected on your iPhone,” stay calm. Do not click on the message under any circumstances.
Viruses have been detected on your iPhone: What does that mean?
- This message will appear while browsing in Safari. Along with the warning, you’ll also see a prompt stating that you can remove the virus by tapping “OK.” Do not do this under any circumstances!
- You do not have a virus on your iPhone. This fake alert, promising supposed immediate help, is designed to trick you into tapping the “OK” button.
- The people behind this scheme are trying to gain unauthorized access to your Apple account and personal data.
How to Respond Correctly to a Virus Alert
As previously explained: Do not click on anything in the virus alert. It may be difficult to simply close the page while the alert is displayed.
- But the solution is quite simple: Disable JavaScript. To do this, open Settings and scroll down to “Safari.”
- Here, tap “Advanced” and use the slider to turn off “JavaScript.”
- Now close the Safari app by double-clicking the Home button and swiping up.
- Then restart Safari. The page will now appear, but without the pop-up containing the virus warning. Close the affected page and also clear your history in Safari.
- Finally, you can re-enable JavaScript for the Safari browser.
