A remote employee reports that her Android phone, which she uses for work email, has become sluggish over the last day. Even when no apps are open, full-screen pop-up ads appear, the notification shade shows repeated "virus detected" alerts from an unknown program, and the cellular data tracker indicates unusually high usage overnight. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of these symptoms?
Developer options were enabled, activating resource-intensive diagnostic logs
Battery-saver features were disabled, allowing normal apps to sync continuously
A sideloaded application with hidden adware is running in the background
The carrier has started data-throttling after the plan's limit was exceeded
Pop-up ads, fake security warnings, unexplained background data use, and degraded performance are classic indicators that an unauthorized or malicious application (often installed from an unofficial source or through application spoofing) is running on the device. Battery-saver settings, carrier throttling, or enabling developer options do not generate fake antivirus alerts or constant advertising, nor do they normally consume large amounts of data in the background.
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What is sideloading, and how can it lead to issues like adware?
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How does adware work, and why does it cause high data usage and pop-up ads?
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What steps can users take to remove adware from their Android devices?