I've been having an issue while watching YouTube shorts where, for some reason, I find myself accidentally clicking on ads. This has happened multiple times now, and it's starting to freak me out a bit. I mainly use my phone to watch these shorts (I use adblockers when on my laptop), but when I click an ad and it opens my browser, I worry about the potential for malware. I've heard there are tons of risky ads out there, so I instantly change my Google account password whenever this happens. My question is, is just clicking on an ad enough for malware to be downloaded to my phone? For context, I use Firefox as my browser with uBlock Origin, I manage my passwords with BitWarden, have 2FA set up everywhere possible, and regularly scan my phone with Malwarebytes. Am I in any real danger?
4 Answers
No need to worry; you won't get malware just from clicking on ads. Malware typically comes from actually downloading something or providing personal information through those ads, so as long as you avoid that, your phone should be safe!
Nope, merely touching an ad on YouTube won't lead to malware being downloaded. All that tech stuff you shared about your setup isn't really necessary for this situation. Clicking ads won't compromise your phone's security.
Totally safe! Just to confirm, clicking ads won't invite any harmful software. So keep enjoying those shorts without the panic!
You're in the clear! Just closing the ad right away is all you need to do. If you're worried about your phone's security, you might consider uninstalling that antivirus app—I've found they're pretty ineffective on Android and iOS.
Yeah, I had a similar experience where MalwareBytes actually found a virus on my phone when my built-in antivirus missed it. So, I can see why you'd want to keep it around.
So just to clarify, as long as I'm not downloading or giving out info, I'm good? Thanks for the reassurance!