I believe my iPad has malware or something, how do I check that it does & remove it?

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I believe my iPad has malware or something, how do I check that it does & remove it?

I have a 10th Gen IPad Air, running iOS 18.1.1. I’ve had it for about 3 years with minimal problems. I’ve been using it to complete surveys for in-game rewards for 2 different apps. I was initially worried about any harmful things that could be on some of the sites the surveys were on, but figured I shouldn’t be too concerned because Apple has a pretty strong barrier against things like viruses & malware. Today, I opened my iPad and went to play music on Spotify using bluetooth to my Amazon Alexa. It kept clicking songs I didn’t even have on my playlist, and connected itself to the Google Dot upstairs multiple times, then continued to mess with the volume and other bluetooth device’s connected to my Spotify. I closed Spotify to make sure it wasn’t my iPad, but it stopped & continued once I opened it again. I also opened IMessage to ask my mom if she was doing it, because she can control my Alexa via her own Iphone & she typically turns my volume up before she ‘drops in’ to talk to me or get my attention. When I opened IMessage, it clicked on three other contacts and typed random letters. I restarted my iPad after that, but it wasn’t fixed. Im thinking that I may have contracted some kind of malware or something from the survey sites I mentioned above, but I’m not sure. Is there a way that I can check to verify that this is the problem? And if it is, what can I do to fix it?

iPad, iPadOS 18

Posted on Jan 22, 2025 2:34 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 22, 2025 2:44 PM in response to WhoShotKurt

Providing your iPad has been kept up-to-date with system software updates, you should not be overly concerned for your iPad being directly compromised by malware. Due to the sandboxed 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 vulnerable.

For older devices, no longer benefiting from regular security updates, the risk of an unpatched vulnerability being exploited increases. Regardless of the installed version of iPadOS, there are useful mitigations that can be used to significantly reduce your exposure to risk. For iPad, ensure that you have updated to the most recent version of iPadOS - the current version being iPadOS 18.2.1.

The majority of threats to which you will be invariably exposed will surface via web pages or embedded links within email or other messaging platforms. Browser-based attacks can be largely and successfully mitigated by installing a good 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, often utilised by so-called AntiVirus products intended for iOS/iPadOS. Instead, all processing by 1Blocker 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 is blocked from download. 1Blocker has also introduced its new “Firewall” functions - that are explicitly designed to block “trackers”. Being implemented at the network-layer, this additional protection works across all Apps. Recent updates to 1Blocker has introduced additional network extensions, extending protection to other Apps.

A further measure to improve protection is to use a security focussed DNS Service 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 - and in so doing extends the benefit of this specific protection to other devices on your local network. I recommend using one of the following DNS services - for which IPv4 and IPv6 server addresses are listed:

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

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

2606:4700:4700::1111

2606:4700:4700::1001

Security focused DNS providers intentionally "sink hole" known bad or malicious websites and resources - this providing an additional layer of protection beyond that provided by your device and its Operating System. These DNS services will, when used alongside 1Blocker or other reputable Content Blocker, provide defence in depth.

There are advanced techniques to further “harden” iOS/iPadOS (such as using DoH, DoT and DNSSEC). Apple has recently introduced its new Private Relay to its iCloud+ subscribers - in part employing ODoH (a variant of DoH) as an element of this new functionality. DoH and DoT are now natively supported by iOS/iPadOS, however these protocols are only surfaced through adding a management profile to the device; this is easily implemented through using a third-party App such as DNSecure:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/dnsecure/id1533413232

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