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Will disabling Lockdown Mode eradicate viruses?

My obsessive ex-friend indicated to me that he read my Whatsapp chats without my consent by giving specific information. I never allow anyone have access to my phone. I am very strict when it comes to passwords or giving phone to someone.


During confrontation, he laughed about how he knows what he read and continued to spy on my phone despite resetting all passwords everywhere (Apple ID, Facebook, Gmail..). My phone began to act weirdly at the moment I found out that he spied on my phone, such as the battery suddenly dropping very quickly and being heated. Whatsapp blocked users were strangely unblocked. I blocked users again, and it was lifted the next day including himself, as if someone had access to my phone. These unusual occurrences became quite repetitive over the course of four days. Although turning the Verification Code on in Whatsapp helped and blocked users were no longer unblocked. My phone was still having issues. I found out I had two icons in "Find my Phone", one unknown and one was my phone. This is how I could find out he was monitoring my phone through his phone.


I had no option but to use the extreme option which is turning Lockdown Mode on. It made a huge difference and I was no longer experiencing any issues. The battery rarely drains and no longer heats. My ex-friend, I suspect, either installed a virus on my phone or used spy applications.


I'd like to turn Lockdown Mode off someday, and my question is, if I do turn Lockdown Mode off, will viruses still be planted on my phone? I'm not sure if enabling Lockdown Mode remove viruses or hidden spy apps.

Posted on Apr 21, 2023 5:37 PM

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7 replies

Aug 16, 2023 8:02 PM in response to jessamine147

Be careful with VPN apps as there are many that simply harvest all your data. A legitimate VPN company will forward all your data to the destination protecting your IP address. There are many free VPN app that will simply intercept the data and will direct you to sites claiming you have a virus so they can attempt to scare you into buying a scan that will fix your problem. This is a well known tactic with those VPN's.


WhatsApp is a common platform for phishing attempts to get your data or claim you have a virus. There is nothing that can be installed on your device through them, but you can get into trouble if you fall for them by providing your Apple ID/Password or call a fake Apple Support number that will come up. There is no tracking software that can be installed by viewing a video. Your battery may get hot depending on the resolution and video format used that just require more processing power.


Aug 16, 2023 7:44 PM in response to Sara_whatever

As long as your device is not jailbroken, there is no app that can be installed on it other than from the App Store. An email attachment cannot install a virus or malware on your phone. The problems you described appear to be a compromised WhatsApp password. I suggest you also run the Safety Check on your device to verify Trusted Phone Numbers, Shared information, and to remove any unknown devices logged into you Apple ID. Follow this up with changing your Apple ID Password and device Passcode and you should be fine removing lockdown mode.

How Safety Check on iPhone works to keep you safe - Apple Support

Change your Apple ID password - Apple Support

Set a passcode on iPhone – Apple Support (UK)


Your battery drain issue could simply be a degraded battery, check the Battery Health in settings and if it is below 80%, then it needs replaced. Lockdown mode does disable services that require more energy to run, which is why you would see the battery lasting longer when it is on.

Apr 22, 2023 6:09 AM in response to SravanKrA

But my question is not how viruses landed on my phone. I will rephrase the question: Will disabling Lockdown Mode keep the issues I had before enabling Lockdown Mode?


PS: I never download anything onto my phone and only use well-known apps. According to two of my programming friends, he may have emailed me attachments or sent me a digital video or photos infected with malware.

Jun 16, 2023 4:57 AM in response to SravanKrA

Hi SrananKrA

Thank your reply to Sara~whatever…my concern is that when you say there are no viruses/malware for Apple, what exactly do you mean?

I have been targetted for phishing issues many times via my WhatsApp account. This must surely mean that the Apple architecture is vulnerable to manipulation .

Why else were there 39 potential exploits/vulnerabilities found in update 16.5….a similar amount to most updates….that were found by fellow Apple users?

I have Lockdown Enabled, but WhatsApp allowed an infected video which after it was viewed, left my phone to overheat…I accept that WhatsApp is not an Apple product, but surely there has to be some boundaries or restrictions on practices which might render Apple products unsafe to use. I can only guess that it was tracking software that was part of that video

So I am now left asking, how do I prove if the tracking has been removed, and if so how will I know? I have already set my Safari so I am not tracked, but short of removing the app , how do I prove that my device is safe, when Lockdown is enabled? Especially as the whole point was that you shouldn’t be able to amend or add/remove programs etc.


Before I enabled Lockdown, I had a VPN app which detecting a issue with the ‘GET ‘ button in the App Store adverts…so to be honest , saying that Apple does not get viruses/malware cannot be true, because a factory reset does not solve the problem.


Looking forward to hearing your thoughts

Regatds

Jeasamine

Aug 16, 2023 7:19 PM in response to Sara_whatever

Sara i’m trying to figure out why Chat GPT was hidden and preinstalled on my device. Also Apple’s recovery process is not so effective. My recovery code that i write down is changed when i try and recover so i don't even use apple’s recovery because any number i give as a friend might be harassed my family has kids. So recovery key is a bust and i dont trust these ‘people’ enough to put friends in their crosshairs. Also Microsoft GPT was hidden preinstalled on my iphone in which i was able to isolate through screen time. The sad fact is i have learned through time any attempt to restore any sort of piece of mind through any tech firm is futile. Just let them enjoy the show. God be with you and best of luck in the future wars to come.

Will disabling Lockdown Mode eradicate viruses?

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