Malware Concerns on my iPad

Do you have a particular reason to be worried about malware? If you can provide more details, appropriate advice or guidance may be available.

Due to the system architecture of iOS/iPadOS, unless jailbroken (don’t go there!), 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.

While your iPad is unlikely to be directly infected by malware, it is still possible to easily download an “infected” file to the iPad - which if transferred elsewhere still has the capacity to infect other computer systems with malware.

There is a vulnerability, often exploited, that gives the appearance of a malware infection. This involves your iPad/iPhone Calendar - the symptom being your Calendar appearing to have been populated with regular events that warn of malware infection. Whilst not a malware infection in the traditional sense, if this exploit is observed on your device, it is highly probable that you were manipulated (via a simple click on a website link) into “subscribing” an additional (unwanted) Calendar to your device - and this unexpected Calendar is exposing unwanted calendar events and sending you unexpected “adverts” or other warnings. 

If you see this issue, you’ll need to check for what’s out of place...

iOS/iPadOS13 and earlier: Settings > Passwords and Accounts

iOS/iPadOS14: Settings > Calendar > Accounts

Look for an “account” that shouldn’t be in the list of accounts - as this will likely include the Calendar that contains all the unwanted events. When/if you find the suspect account, tap - then select Delete Account. This should resolve this specific problem in its entirety.

The majority of threats to which you may be exposed are email/text messages that have potentially malicious links - that if followed, may attempt to deliver malware. Other common threats are pop-up windows in websites.

Should you wish to add a degree of useful protection to your iPad, whilst acknowledging that there are no bona-fide anti-virus products for iOS/iPadOS, there are a small number of Apps which do add useful defences. Browser and network-based attacks can largely be 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. 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.

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.

A further measure to improve protection is to use a security focussed DNS services in preference to DNS automatic settings. This can either be set on a per-device basis in Settings, or can be set-up on your home Router. I strongly recommend using one of the following 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+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, or other Content Blocker provides defense in depth.

There are advanced techniques to further “harden” iOS/iPadOS, but these are perhaps beyond the immediate skills of novice users.

What problem exactly?

There's very limited types of malware that can affect an iPad. The most common one is Calendar spam, were a website makes you subscribe to a calendar and it just pushes spam calendar events. This can be easily resolved by removing the offending calendar.

Beyond that, here's not much that can be installed without your intervention. What exactly happened? What makes you think there may be malware installed?