[VIRUS or new ads?] Popup ads in most apps - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey everyone,
I've had my Nexus 5 since its initial release on CyanogenMod or various other stable ROMs. Anyways just today I began seeing these small, but obnoxious ads in-app. I don't download random apps, click on random bs links, or visit/browse through shady websites.
The ads are a wide rectangle near the top of the screen. There's a little x at the top left and an 'opt out' on the bottom right. It leads to a web page that essentially wants you to submit your IMEI, device ID and other information...or download/install an apk to "automatically" opt out of the ads.
I installed a few different antivirus/security apps to no avail of isolating any sort of virus/malware. I then ran the optout.apk through said antivirus apps and it came clean. So against my better judgement I installed the app and opted out, then deleted the application as instructed.
The ads still populate over my screen while using most apps - Google Play, Candy Crush, Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.
I've had Android devices dating back to the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant and I have not come across anything like this.
*Anyone else having this issue or know anything about it?*
P.S. While writing this post, I tried to include a screen shot but of course now the ads aren't showing themselves. I'll update the post when it inevitably returns.
Thank you all for your attention.

Sounds dodgy mate, I recommend you clean wipe and flash with no app backups restored.

I too had this. i wiped my phone clean, everything. then installed new rom and started afresh. i tried alsorts too but it became a joke.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

My friends this happens having installed some apps related to wallpaper and backgrounds ... you maybe installed "aquarium 3d" or "backgrounds premiumHD" of "Pixign"? still come this way ...

What above comment says is true. There are some apps on the Play Store that enforce random ads around your daily usage.
I would recommend clean flashing, using AdAway(you can find on Google) and lastly, keep a close eye on what happens after each app is installed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

PinoDG said:
My friends this happens having installed some apps related to wallpaper and backgrounds ... you maybe installed "aquarium 3d" or "backgrounds premiumHD" of "Pixign"? still come this way ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only type of wallpaper app I had was "Premium Wallpaper HD." Looking at its reviews this app is the cause of these popups! . Obviously got rid of it but I will continue to assess the situation in case there are any other apps causing issues. Thank you!
Curiousn00b said:
What above comment says is true. There are some apps on the Play Store that enforce random ads around your daily usage.
I would recommend clean flashing, using AdAway(you can find on Google) and lastly, keep a close eye on what happens after each app is installed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turned out "Premium Wallpaper HD" was causing this mayhem. I've deleted all traces of this app and will continue to monitor the situation. I'll clean flash a new ROM over the weekend, just in case. Also installed AdAway for any further issues. Appreciate the help. :good:

Related

[Q] Market without the top carousel rotating apps

Hey guys I am having a problem with my Market that hopefully someone could help me with.
So I was playing with my transformer - testing youtube, websites, & downloading apps. All of a sudden the top section of the Market - where it usually has the flash-based (?) carousel of the featured apps - is gone. I believe this occurred after I update Adobe Flash to the latest 10.2.157.51. Don't exactly remember what happened.
When I put the Market widget on the desktop, it keep showing nothing but the autoCAD WS app (See pic). And while in Market, I can't even click on the "Featured Tablet Apps" section. However, "Top Free Apps" section works.
I tried to go to Settings->Applications->Market-> clear data and clear cache but was unsuccessful. Also did a factory data rest but that didn't work.
I have verified with a friend's xoom and he doesn't have the same problem I'm having. He updated to the lastest flash too. So I'm not sure if that's the problem.
I am on build 20110414.
UPDATE: Seems like market is back to normal with the carousel and everything
okay so it's not just me. rebooted my TF 3 times cause i thought something was wrong.
nothing to do with flash though. i installed flash yesterday and the market was working fine up until about 2 hours ago when this happened to me.
something just got screwed up in the tablet market thats all.
i am having this problem right now, so it just fixes itself out?
yea i had my doubts that it was the flash update.
i still don't get how my friend's xoom has the market fully working with the top carousel of apps and feature tablet apps section working.
do you guys also have the issue where the market widget only displays the autoCAD app?
this error is also not letting me open/purchase any paid apps
Just checked mine because I did not have that problem, it loaded up with the carousel and then just disappeared. It must be something to do with android market place.
I can see my paid apps as installed but did not carry out a search to see if paid apps show on the market place when searching.
shawnbuell said:
this error is also not letting me open/purchase any paid apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I am having the same problem, it shows the paid app on the market but when you select it, it gives an error saying that details of the paid app cannot be found.
same issue running modaco hr3 - based off 0423 update.
kev30 said:
Hey guys I am having a problem with my Market that hopefully someone could help me with.
So I was playing with my transformer - testing youtube, websites, & downloading apps. All of a sudden the top section of the Market - where it usually has the flash-based (?) carousel of the featured apps - is gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well don't you think that is totally amazing?
That was the most annoying things i had with my device, some scrolling carousel taking up nearly 40% of the app promoting random apps that were of no interest to me whatsoever
I would have paid money to have it removed!
What was wrong with the 'ordinary' market from phones? where you were told of 'latest apps', 'my apps', 'paid apps', on pages that i could go to if i wanted to by clicking on the link.
Another annoying thing was that worthless market widget
Who would want a widget on their screen displaying random **** that you have no interest in it's just ill conceived garbage!
Why couldn't i adjust it in settings so it would display new released apps from a certain section 'productivity' for example
Because it looks like the best android developers knowlonger work for google, they have all left and gone to work for HTC and sense development
checkbox111 said:
Well don't you think that is totally amazing?
That was the most annoying things i had with my device, some scrolling carousel taking up nearly 40% of the app promoting random apps that were of no interest to me whatsoever
I would have paid money to have it removed!
What was wrong with the 'ordinary' market from phones? where you were told of 'latest apps', 'my apps', 'paid apps', on pages that i could go to if i wanted to by clicking on the link.
Another annoying thing was that worthless market widget
Who would want a widget on their screen displaying random **** that you have no interest in it's just ill conceived garbage!
Why couldn't i adjust it in settings so it would display new released apps from a certain section 'productivity' for example
Because it looks like the best android developers knowlonger work for google, they have all left and gone to work for HTC and sense development
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with you however I would like to purchase apps too, this bug( or fix, depending on how you see it) has screwed up the paid apps which if it didn't, i wouldn't have complained.
Anyone found a fix yet?
It seems google has been doing something with the market over the last few days, as lots of weird goings on have occured. I'm speculating that a tablet section will be added not too far off in the future, like itunes does for iphone/ipad. The layout has certainly changed over the last few days, that's for sure. Probably just a matter of time before your problems are resolved.
I'm having problems with seeing paid apps in the market as well... they aren't there!
I guess it will be the web market until the market app gets fixed.
Same problem. Im not rooted. Can't install or view details on paid apps.
-mark
checkbox111 said:
Well don't you think that is totally amazing?
That was the most annoying things i had with my device, some scrolling carousel taking up nearly 40% of the app promoting random apps that were of no interest to me whatsoever
I would have paid money to have it removed!
What was wrong with the 'ordinary' market from phones? where you were told of 'latest apps', 'my apps', 'paid apps', on pages that i could go to if i wanted to by clicking on the link.
Another annoying thing was that worthless market widget
Who would want a widget on their screen displaying random **** that you have no interest in it's just ill conceived garbage!
Why couldn't i adjust it in settings so it would display new released apps from a certain section 'productivity' for example
Because it looks like the best android developers knowlonger work for google, they have all left and gone to work for HTC and sense development
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that would be awesome. but right now i just want a functioning market. that worthless market widget is even less functional when it keep displaying the same autocad app. argh
as some have mentioned before, I'm really hoping that an update to the market is imminent
There's a thread at Google here about this -
http://www.google.com/support/forum...cd&hl=en&fid=2a65bdb41d02f7cd0004a224e70b0261
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
woohoo market is back to normal. Market widget and carousel are all working properly.

Apps installing by themselves

Hey I was wondering if anyone else has had apps install by themself, over the past few days a couple of apps have somehow showed up on my home screen. They don't show up under the app drawer or under apps in settings. Also ever since these started coming thru I keep getting notifications for other stuff like "lose belly fat" and "job offers starting at $325 and hour". I'm currently running aokp m6 if it helps. I've done a full wipe and it stopped for a day and then came back. I'll post some screen shots of the apps.
P.s. the ones installing automatically are the last three above the PayPal widget.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
tr82691 said:
Hey I was wondering if anyone else has had apps install by themself, over the past few days a couple of apps have somehow showed up on my home screen. They don't show up under the app drawer or under apps in settings. Also ever since these started coming thru I keep getting notifications for other stuff like "lose belly fat" and "job offers starting at $325 and hour". I'm currently running aokp m6 if it helps. I've done a full wipe and it stopped for a day and then came back. I'll post some screen shots of the apps.
P.s. the ones installing automatically are the last three above the PayPal widget.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too had some Apps install on their own. But they were apps I had before I attempted a NANDROID Restore, which for some odd reason failed and killed my Boot. So I was forced to re-flash my stock boot/ROM on my S3 (AT&T Flavor) and repeat the Rooting process. But once I started looking through my app drawer, some of these apps were being re-installed. Odd, perhaps some internal back-up that I'm not aware of on ICS.
Yea these are random apps that aren't even from the play store. When I click on them they open the browser and take me to a page to sign up for a subscription.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Have you installed recently any pirate app? An app not bought or downloaded from Android market?
I saw some apps that installs a patch that brings/installs apps and shortcuts on your cellphone. Tô solve this Just delete the program or patch and use an antivirus Just in case...
Good luck
Enviado do meu GT-I9000 usando o Tapatalk
No I purchase all my apps from the market. and have all your same apps from my note and my note doesn't have this issue.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
same issue
I'm having this issue but its legit apps keep "updating" themselves baxk after I uninstall them
ie: bbm, flashify, (more I can't think off atm)
Some of the apps has Adware build in it, which means if you download the App, it will spam your Home screen full.
You can fix this problem by manually delete it everytime, to fix it permantly you need to delete the app.
Fantassy123 said:
Some of the apps has Adware build in it, which means if you download the App, it will spam your Home screen full.
You can fix this problem by manually delete it everytime, to fix it permantly you need to delete the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do uninstall them but they update from the app store and come back
dewrust said:
I do uninstall them but they update from the app store and come back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you uninstalled the right one?
also do you have any virus on your phone? I don't think this is the problem though.
Fantassy123 said:
Are you sure you uninstalled the right one?
also do you have any virus on your phone? I don't think this is the problem though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes multiple times
Today I went as far as deleting history of them being installed in the app store... Waiting to see if they are back tomorrow
Update: still happening. Resorting to auto update off and still having to stop installs... Something to do with rebooting, or its triggering it

How to detach an app from the Play Store

Right, I'm a PowerAMP pro user, but with a pretty old phone. The latest app is working but it's slow and sometimes lags. The poweramp site also offers the old 1.4 version which works right for me. Now, all is fine and dandy but I;m a bit annoyed by the app always showing up there to be updated. So I searched for a method to detach the app from the market and learnt that the bug has been solved long ago and apps can't be detached. So I tried changing the app's signature, of course with no luck, my android dev skills being close to absolute zero.
So I ask you, is there any way to do this? I am not pirating the app, so don't worry
I'm also trying to convince the developer to make an unsigned version of the app specifically for old timers like me, but with no success until now..
Just use LBE Privacy guard and freeze internet connection permission for this particular app..
So it will not connect to net and not telling you that new version is available..
we all should be polite enough to press thanks for anyone who helped US.
andrei1015 said:
Right, I'm a PowerAMP pro user, but with a pretty old phone. The latest app is working but it's slow and sometimes lags. The poweramp site also offers the old 1.4 version which works right for me. Now, all is fine and dandy but I;m a bit annoyed by the app always showing up there to be updated. So I searched for a method to detach the app from the market and learnt that the bug has been solved long ago and apps can't be detached. So I tried changing the app's signature, of course with no luck, my android dev skills being close to absolute zero.
So I ask you, is there any way to do this? I am not pirating the app, so don't worry
I'm also trying to convince the developer to make an unsigned version of the app specifically for old timers like me, but with no success until now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it doesnt need to connect to the internet for anything else you could use droidwall to block it from accessing the playstore
If your rooted you could use blackmart to download the app and never have to update it
Or see the updates notifications saying there's an update
Sent from my MB865 using XDA Premium HD app
andrei1015 said:
Right, I'm a PowerAMP pro user, but with a pretty old phone. The latest app is working but it's slow and sometimes lags. The poweramp site also offers the old 1.4 version which works right for me. Now, all is fine and dandy but I;m a bit annoyed by the app always showing up there to be updated. So I searched for a method to detach the app from the market and learnt that the bug has been solved long ago and apps can't be detached. So I tried changing the app's signature, of course with no luck, my android dev skills being close to absolute zero.
So I ask you, is there any way to do this? I am not pirating the app, so don't worry
I'm also trying to convince the developer to make an unsigned version of the app specifically for old timers like me, but with no success until now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know Titanium Backup can detach apps, though I am not sure if it is available in the free version. However, I do recommend the paid version of Titanium Backup anyway.
universeman said:
I know Titanium Backup can detach apps, though I am not sure if it is available in the free version. However, I do recommend the paid version of Titanium Backup anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never been able to make that function actually work and I've tried with several apps that I don't want updates for.
Sent from my M886 using Tapatalk 2
On a related note, is there a way to remove apps from the "My Apps"list? It is really annoying to have to scroll through a list of apps containing tons of apps that you may have tried for a while and then uninstalled when you need to reinstall something. And why is the "My Apps" list in random order and not alphabetical?
"Dark is the night, I'm just a lonesome ol' shootin' star."
Sent from my Paranoid Android JB'd Infuse 4G using Tapatalk 2
lunarlandr said:
On a related note, is there a way to remove apps from the "My Apps"list? It is really annoying to have to scroll through a list of apps containing tons of apps that you may have tried for a while and then uninstalled when you need to reinstall something. And why is the "My Apps" list in random order and not alphabetical?
"Dark is the night, I'm just a lonesome ol' shootin' star."
Sent from my Paranoid Android JB'd Infuse 4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know (and after some quick Googling), there is no way to remove any apps from the giant "My Apps" list. However, I use the Appbrain android market replacement, and it lets you customize your lists and sort them better. You can remove devices from view though.
universeman said:
As far as I know (and after some quick Googling), there is no way to remove any apps from the giant "My Apps" list. However, I use the Appbrain android market replacement, and it lets you customize your lists and sort them better. You can remove devices from view though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will definitely look into that and continue to research the issue as well. If I find any other solutions, I won't hesitate to post an update.
"Dark is the night, I'm just a lonesome ol' shootin' star."
Sent from my Paranoid Android JB'd Infuse 4G using Tapatalk 2

Apps launch and then quit. Pulling my hair out. *SOLVED!*

Bing, News, Amazon Kindle are a few apps which launch for one second and then quit. Even mail and people tiles do not update any longer and live tiles stop working. I have uninstalled these apps and reinstalled them where they begin to work again for a bit and then start playing up again. I have refreshed pc and still same problems. Also in Notifications tab in PC Settings, where it says Show notifications from these apps, there is nothing listed. They were listed after a refresh and no longer there.
I have all the latest updates installed and I think that is where the problem is. I bet one update is causing the problems. I feel like refreshing again and not installing any kb updates or firmware updates. Really really frustrated.
Any ideas? Solutions? Magic words?
Sounds awful. Do you have a stable WiFi connection? I have noticed that the Surface wants good connection or she gets weird. Surfing the web ok? Don't have to tap links multiple times to go anyware?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
wardh said:
Sounds awful. Do you have a stable WiFi connection? I have noticed that the Surface wants good connection or she gets weird. Surfing the web ok? Don't have to tap links multiple times to go anyware?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi is good.
Did you recently change your mSD card ?
tboy2000 said:
Bing, News, Amazon Kindle are a few apps which launch for one second and then quit. Even mail and people tiles do not update any longer and live tiles stop working. I have uninstalled these apps and reinstalled them where they begin to work again for a bit and then start playing up again. I have refreshed pc and still same problems. Also in Notifications tab in PC Settings, where it says Show notifications from these apps, there is nothing listed. They were listed after a refresh and no longer there.
I have all the latest updates installed and I think that is where the problem is. I bet one update is causing the problems. I feel like refreshing again and not installing any kb updates or firmware updates. Really really frustrated.
Any ideas? Solutions? Magic words?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you contacted Microsoft or Amazon about those apps? Maybe it's the HW and you need to exchange? Unless you want to wipe everything as a last resort use alternative apps until that's sorted or the web browser. For news I would use this aggregator called news republic instead of the default app because it's faster at loading up, playing videos, and opening up articles. I don't use Bing, people, mail, or amazon kindle. Don't think there's anything that gets you live tiles n does everything those programs do. So it seems nothing you can really do.
Their is a Microsoft fixit for windows store apps not launching, a simple search will find it. If it tells you that it found corrupted files then a complete reset is in order. Also if you have done any of the tweaks, some of them can cause instability. If you have then retroactively undo the tweaks until you find the cause.
Ok I solved the problem. A simple refresh of the pc was not enough as it does not delete your apps or databases. I there chose to remove everything and reinstall the os which DOES delete the apps and data. This solved the crashing apps and non syncing mail/dead live tiles. I guess due to some corrupt data for the apps.

Ads pop up everywhere on my phone

Hey does anyone know why I have advertisements popping up on my phone all the time?
It's random and occurs in all apps and I checked for virus with a scanner and it doesn't say anything. Has anyone had this issue before and know a solution? Idk what I clicked that might have caused this bug. Ads usually are games that lead me to the play store and not anything explicit (if that helps)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
x10user2011 said:
Hey does anyone know why I have advertisements popping up on my phone all the time?
It's random and occurs in all apps and I checked for virus with a scanner and it doesn't say anything. Has anyone had this issue before and know a solution? Idk what I clicked that might have caused this bug. Ads usually are games that lead me to the play store and not anything explicit (if that helps)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Start in safe mode see if they still show up
If it is in games, if you're rooted try downloading an ad blocker. Since they blocked it from the Play Store you will need to Google it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
markdapimp said:
Start in safe mode see if they still show up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that, it's ads popping up in places such as SMS or music and it's weird..
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
You have something installed doing it. What did you last install before it happened?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
x10user2011 said:
It's not that, it's ads popping up in places such as SMS or music and it's weird..
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still safe mode will disable all third party apps and any potential malware on your phone
think of it as a fail safe boot like how Windows has it
Heres how to get into it
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2852139?hl=en
how to get out of it? just shutdown your phone as you normally would and start it back
This is odd. Have you downloaded something from outside the play store? Do you have unknown sources enabled? If you didn't, then something is horribly wrong here. If you did download and install any APK, delete it.
If this is something from the Play Store itself, we have to report it.
To be completely safe, as others said, run the phone in safe mode. If they still pop up, flash the factory image...something went wrong. If they don't, it's an app.
markdapimp said:
Still safe mode will disable all third party apps and any potential malware on your phone
think of it as a fail safe boot like how Windows has it
Heres how to get into it
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2852139?hl=en
how to get out of it? just shutdown your phone as you normally would and start it back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is also another trick that I found some days ago.....restart the phone and then let the google logo go, when the boot animation starts keep pressing the volume down button untill u get to the lock screen....ur safe mode should be there
x10user2011 said:
Hey does anyone know why I have advertisements popping up on my phone all the time?
It's random and occurs in all apps and I checked for virus with a scanner and it doesn't say anything. Has anyone had this issue before and know a solution? Idk what I clicked that might have caused this bug. Ads usually are games that lead me to the play store and not anything explicit (if that helps)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please take a screenshot of such an ad to help us see what the problem might be. Also have a look at installed apps to see which one may be causing it.(preferably list all 3rd party apps you have installed, or simply a couple of screenshots)
Also as mentioned you should try safe mode(long press the "turn off" button in the power menu), to see if it still happens.(if not, it is one of your 3rd party apps.)
You could try and use a nifty app from the Play store called AirPush detector. It will look through your phone to look through which apps might be showing you unwanted advertisements.
Sent from my Nexus 5
It was definitely an app that you installed, there are some apps in the playstore that if you install them will show ads. This is sketchy but I guess they want to make money somehow....
this is how many free games/apps stay free
mistahseller said:
It was definitely an app that you installed, there are some apps in the playstore that if you install them will show ads. This is sketchy but I guess they want to make money somehow....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simms22 said:
this is how many free games/apps stay free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Popup ads? I understand ads in the game, but I've never seen ads that pop up in system apps. That's not allowed per the google play TOS. I'll be sure to report them if you give me the names of them. I have apps on there too, and most of them don't have ads, but the ones that do are always unobtrusive.
aooga said:
Popup ads? I understand ads in the game, but I've never seen ads that pop up in system apps. That's not allowed per the google play TOS. I'll be sure to report them if you give me the names of them. I have apps on there too, and most of them don't have ads, but the ones that do are always unobtrusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I can't remember what app it was it was on my nexus 4, I installed something and everytime I would hit home it would popup like a sys warning message but it would be an ad.
I would run a virus/malware scan and stop using questionable apps.
jd1639 said:
...stop using questionable apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. People keep complaining about Android having viruses when they're downloading all kinds of things like "free smileys" from random sites. 99.9% of the time, Google Play has clean apps, but there are still some apps that Google needs to filter out better. They need to completely ban air push and other notification ads or really anything that doesn't stay within the app.
EDIT: This wasn't meant to bash the OP. I'm talking about other people, and hopefully the OP didn't download this kind of stuff.
aooga said:
Popup ads? I understand ads in the game, but I've never seen ads that pop up in system apps. That's not allowed per the google play TOS. I'll be sure to report them if you give me the names of them. I have apps on there too, and most of them don't have ads, but the ones that do are always unobtrusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea. these apps open in the background. and since they are "open", their ads pop up. these arent the same kinds of ads that open in the app itself, theyll open in the status bar or just pop up. again, they are usually included in free apps/games that are usually of lower quality.
simms22 said:
yea. these apps open in the background. and since they are "open", their ads pop up. these arent the same kinds of ads that open in the app itself, theyll open in the status bar or just pop up. again, they are usually included in free apps/games that are usually of lower quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought Google banned that? http://phandroid.com/2013/09/30/google-play-notification-ads-policy/
aooga said:
I thought Google banned that? http://phandroid.com/2013/09/30/google-play-notification-ads-policy/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks that way.
but there are certain conditions that these app makers can use those ads.
simms22 said:
looks that way.
but there are certain conditions that these app makers can use those ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. That's dumb. Oh well, I would never download any of those shady apps anyway, and neither would most people, but I still wish Google would have a bit more strict guidelines.

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