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candilynn Author

Level 1

1 points

iPhone sending unauthorized Data. ? Malware.

For the past 2 months, our family is getting Verizon alerts that we are approximating max data use, which has never happened before.

Then, for about the past month, when browsing on the iphones, we are getting a google CAPTCHA for unusual traffic.

When I went into Safari Advanced settings on our iPhones, I can see that our iPhones are sending unauthorized data to multiple websites repeated in small chunks--I've attached two photos of just today's data. I cleared the web history last PM. This is what was sent with only about 10 minutes of iPhone use while browsing using Wifi this AM.

We do not jailbreak phones. We only use iTunes downloads for any apps, and we rarely use apps anyway. We are adults who use our phones mainly for business and communication through text and email. However, we do use the mainstream apps, such as Facebook and iTunes. We do not use Facetime or any video apps. We use our browsers for reading of daily news.

We actually do NOT sync these computers with a desktop system or with a cloud. I used to, but I actually put away my desktop Mac for some cleaning and haven't sync'd the phones with it in a bit. Last sync was before this stuff began occurring.

Does anybody have any thoughts, or better, any remedy for this before I have to go into the Apple Store Genius Bar?

Posted on Jul 28, 2015 8:19 AM

22 replies

candilynn Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 28, 2015 9:02 AM in response to KiltedTim

When he goes to use the search engine, his google page comes up in "Brazilian." It states "Brazilian" on the side. It says, "To go back to English, click here." This keeps happening and began months ago. We've never been to Brazil, and location services are set to off. I took the phone and cleared the history, and kept trying it, and I was getting standard google, so I don't know if he got something funky loaded in there, and it just kept reloading it or what. But it seems to be corrected, although he says it happened once this morning again. I will take photo if it con't to happen. Oddly, he does not get the CAPTCHA requirement for google use as often as I get it, and we use the same Verizon network, same Wifi, etc.

candilynn Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 28, 2015 9:05 AM in response to Kilgore-Trout

If I'm at home, using Wifi, I open google and browse, and I have no problems. But if I'm on verizon network, as soon as I open the google search engine and enter a term, I get a page from google with a message and a requirement to enter a code.

It is related to this:

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/86640?hl=en

Jul 28, 2015 9:10 AM in response to candilynn

How are you accessing the Google page? Via a bookmark? check that and make sure it isn't set to a Language (or perhaps delete it and type www.google.com and recreate the bookmark).

Go the Settings app > Safari:

Search Engine > select a different search engine (DuckDuckGo for example), then
Clear History and Website data

Double click the Home button and swipe up on Safari to close the browser.

Open Safari and see if the issue persists. If not return to the settings and reset the search engine to whatever you choose top use. and text the browser on that.

For good measure, you might check the Language and Region format (Settings app > General > Language & Region), but I don't think that is the issue.

If the issue persists, contact Verizon support.

candilynn Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 28, 2015 9:17 AM in response to Csound1

Okay, it doesn't happen every time, but frequently. I will change my settings back to see if I can provoke it. And I have to go off the wifi. I'll see if I can get a photo today.

candilynn Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 28, 2015 9:19 AM in response to Csound1

Yes, got it, but it occurs with every single search. It is very time consuming and never happened before. The message around it states that the reason for its implementation is because of "unusual traffic from our network." If it's because of Verizon, I'll just change the search engine. It's a pain to have to keep putting in the code. Other search engines don't require that each time your page moves to a new page. ???

Aug 16, 2015 11:11 AM in response to candilynn

I got the same thing ... now... 10 or so days later... I try to sign into YouTube and it lets me do that ..before it wouldn't... and it's using the same WIFI network (xfinity).

Crazy... and now Siri searches google without a captcha.

candilynn Author

Level 1

1 points

Sep 7, 2015 1:27 PM in response to Randy Zeitman

For anybody following the thread, I finally changed the browser to Bing because I couldn't take this incessant page from google, requesting that I fill in a reCAPTCHA box (I guess I was writing it incorrectly above). Now I just go on with life, blissfully ignorant.

iPhone sending unauthorized Data. ? Malware.