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Received a message saying my iPad had a Trojan

Something came up on my iPad yesterday say my iPad had a Trojan downloaded don’t turn my iPad off call Mac support with a number so after seeing it for the third time I called the number they told me I was hacked by China and they needed to call me on a secure line so they called me back on my iPhone because they said they could listen and shut them down then asked me to download AnyDesk so they could shut them down he also had told me they had been in my iPad for 48 hours

also wanted to know how many devices were in the house


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPad Air, iPadOS 15

Posted on Mar 29, 2022 6:49 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 29, 2022 6:53 AM

Scam. Do not click or otherwise interact with the page. Simply close the browser tab. Here is Apple’s advice on this subject:

Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support


Providing that you have not attempted to jailbreak your device - or have bypassed protections by side-loading third-Apps (if you don’t know what this is, then don’t worry about it), then it is highly unlikely that your device will have been infected with a virus or other malware.


Most alerts that you see are pop-up messages from websites - these being designed to scare the unwary into giving away sensitive information - or to fool you into doing something that you shouldn’t.


Due to the system architecture of iOS/iPadOS, unless jailbroken, your iPad is not susceptible to traditional malware infection per-se. However, as with all computer systems, there are still vulnerabilities and exploits to which you remain at risk. There are steps that you can take to reduce the probability of seeing or becoming the victim of scams of this nature.


Browser-based attacks can largely be mitigated by installing a good, trusted, Content and Ad-blocking product. One of the very best and most respected within the Apple App Store - designed for iPad, iPhone and Mac - is 1Blocker for Safari.

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/1blocker-for-safari/id1365531024


1Blocker is highly configurable - and crucially does not rely upon an external proxy-service of dubious provenance. All processing takes place on your device - and contrary to expectations, Safari will run faster and more efficiently. 


Unwanted content is not simply filtered after download (a technique used by basic/inferior products), but instead undesirable embedded content blocked form download. A further benefit on metered services, such as cellular connections where you data may be capped or chargeable, this not only improves speed but also saves you money.


When using a good quality Content blocker, a high proportion of otherwise inescapable risk when using your Safari browser, or linking to external sources from email, is effectively mitigated before it even reaches you.


There are additional protections that can enhance protection further, such as using one of the better security-focussed DNS Services in preference to automatic DNS settings. This can either be set on a per-device basis in Settings, or can be set-up on your home Router. I recommend using one of the following services, for which IPv4 ad IPv6 server address are included here:


Quad9 (recommended)

9.9.9.9

149.112.112.112

2620:fe::fe

2620:fe::9


OpenDNS

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

2620:0:ccc::2

2620:0:ccd::2


Cloudflare+APNIC

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

2606:4700:4700::1111

2606:4700:4700::1001


Use of the above DNS services will help to shield you from “known bad” websites and URLs - and when used alongside 1Blocker, provides defense in depth.


I hope this reassurance and guidance proves to be helpful in resolving any issues with malicious websites.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 29, 2022 6:53 AM in response to Neatohelp

Scam. Do not click or otherwise interact with the page. Simply close the browser tab. Here is Apple’s advice on this subject:

Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support


Providing that you have not attempted to jailbreak your device - or have bypassed protections by side-loading third-Apps (if you don’t know what this is, then don’t worry about it), then it is highly unlikely that your device will have been infected with a virus or other malware.


Most alerts that you see are pop-up messages from websites - these being designed to scare the unwary into giving away sensitive information - or to fool you into doing something that you shouldn’t.


Due to the system architecture of iOS/iPadOS, unless jailbroken, your iPad is not susceptible to traditional malware infection per-se. However, as with all computer systems, there are still vulnerabilities and exploits to which you remain at risk. There are steps that you can take to reduce the probability of seeing or becoming the victim of scams of this nature.


Browser-based attacks can largely be mitigated by installing a good, trusted, Content and Ad-blocking product. One of the very best and most respected within the Apple App Store - designed for iPad, iPhone and Mac - is 1Blocker for Safari.

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/1blocker-for-safari/id1365531024


1Blocker is highly configurable - and crucially does not rely upon an external proxy-service of dubious provenance. All processing takes place on your device - and contrary to expectations, Safari will run faster and more efficiently. 


Unwanted content is not simply filtered after download (a technique used by basic/inferior products), but instead undesirable embedded content blocked form download. A further benefit on metered services, such as cellular connections where you data may be capped or chargeable, this not only improves speed but also saves you money.


When using a good quality Content blocker, a high proportion of otherwise inescapable risk when using your Safari browser, or linking to external sources from email, is effectively mitigated before it even reaches you.


There are additional protections that can enhance protection further, such as using one of the better security-focussed DNS Services in preference to automatic DNS settings. This can either be set on a per-device basis in Settings, or can be set-up on your home Router. I recommend using one of the following services, for which IPv4 ad IPv6 server address are included here:


Quad9 (recommended)

9.9.9.9

149.112.112.112

2620:fe::fe

2620:fe::9


OpenDNS

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

2620:0:ccc::2

2620:0:ccd::2


Cloudflare+APNIC

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

2606:4700:4700::1111

2606:4700:4700::1001


Use of the above DNS services will help to shield you from “known bad” websites and URLs - and when used alongside 1Blocker, provides defense in depth.


I hope this reassurance and guidance proves to be helpful in resolving any issues with malicious websites.

Received a message saying my iPad had a Trojan

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