Just recently I find that, particularly when visiting links from Facebook (via Chrome) the page I'm on is spontaneously dropped and I go back to Facebook. This also happens without Facebook however, sending me back to my home screen from a webpage browsed via Chrome. I'm wondering if this might have to do with my having fairly recently installed Avast anti-spyware on my device. If so, it certainly didn't happen immediately but is a regular bother now. Help?
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Browser goes back to previous page spontaneously
- Thread starter nweinfeld
- Start date
Droid Firefighter
Senior Member
Remove the anti-spyware. You don't need it on the phone. Only download apps from trusted sources like the play store and trusted developers. Check the permissions an app is asking for. If a game is asking to view your contacts it could be a little shady (example only, some games share your score with friends and some people want that). All the spyware will do is slow down your phone. It could also cause the problem like you are having but I can't say it is definitely causing the problem. Only way to be sure is to uninstall it.
I don't happen to think it is so much a problem with Avast, than it is with Chrome. I tend not to use Chrome as I find there really are too many bugs with it, also it doesn't function like other browsers, such as Firefox for example, besides I don't like giving Google complete control over everything I do on my device. Take a look at Firefox, link here and see if it works better for you, and if you happen to like it, here is a link to download Flash Player as it works well on Firefox. In addition, I tend to use a different program to monitor and maintain my Spyware/Malware (as I need one) called Dr. Web Anti-virus Light, it is free. I tend to prefer this one as it scans all my apps the moment I download and install new apps, it runs background scans and goes through my SD card, it is fully automatic and I do not need to touch, it does require a strong data connection as it updates automatically, I suggest setting the setting to update on Wi-Fi only as anything less than LTE will cause it to run the battery.
Agree with Firefighter.
I don't have this issue. I don't have Anti-Spyware on my phone. That is pure marketing meant to separate you from your money.
Remove that. It is wasting your battery and slowing your phone down.
Common Sense > Anti Virus on a PHONE.
Quoted for truth:
Only download apps from trusted sources like the play store and trusted developers. Check the permissions an app is asking for. If a game is asking to view your contacts it could be a little shady (example only, some games share your score with friends and some people want that). All the spyware will do is slow down your phone. It could also cause the problem like you are having but I can't say it is definitely causing the problem. Only way to be sure is to uninstall it.
I don't have this issue. I don't have Anti-Spyware on my phone. That is pure marketing meant to separate you from your money.
Remove that. It is wasting your battery and slowing your phone down.
Common Sense > Anti Virus on a PHONE.
Quoted for truth:
Only download apps from trusted sources like the play store and trusted developers. Check the permissions an app is asking for. If a game is asking to view your contacts it could be a little shady (example only, some games share your score with friends and some people want that). All the spyware will do is slow down your phone. It could also cause the problem like you are having but I can't say it is definitely causing the problem. Only way to be sure is to uninstall it.
To each their Own. I am sure you have heard about the app Cerberus (info here.) Well, if you haven't you should know it was one of 2013's Top 50 most popular Google Play store app. Well, the app has vulnerability leaks which causes personal information to be hacked from your device. But, go ahead and don't add an Anti-Spyware app on your device. Put your "faith" in Google.
Sajo
Diamond Member
Good morning nweinfeld. As you can see by the posts in this thread, the question of anti-spyware / anti-virus on a cell phone can spark debates. That's a good thing, these discussions about apps help us all learn. The question of whether or not you need it is not what will help you right now. The question is: did the Avast app cause the unwanted behavior you mentioned? I would say, uninstall the app and see what Chrome does with the app gone. Since you mentioned that the problem started right after installing it, seems like a good starting point. If Chrome does function normally again, then you know what the cause was, and can decide if you want to try another spy-ware app. Hope that helps.
If it doesn't turn out to be Avast try clearing the cache in Chrome.
I have edited out my previous additional comment and apologize for going way off topic
Support Our Troops!!!
I have edited out my previous additional comment and apologize for going way off topic
Support Our Troops!!!
So Kachow, because one app turned out to possibly have a problem I am going to run a resources\battery hog on my phone? No way. Sure I have heard of the Cereberus "issue". You mean the issue that:
A) no antivirus would have caught anyway because the vulnerability allowed someone to use the app against you so it wouldn't show as a virus
and
B) was fixed 2 days after being discovered
and
C) compromised not one person's phone???
That Cereberus????
A) no antivirus would have caught anyway because the vulnerability allowed someone to use the app against you so it wouldn't show as a virus
and
B) was fixed 2 days after being discovered
and
C) compromised not one person's phone???
That Cereberus????
As I have already said, "To each their Own." But, you can't tell me that the apps in Google Playstore are safe, no matter what Privacy Protection check-box you check, there still is going to be Malware, Spyware, Virus vulnerabilities, and ANY OTHER GARBAGE that Google simply cannot protect you from alone. Maybe you don't value your IMEI number which for those of you following this an IMEI is like YOUR Device's Social Security number (can find this if you go into Settings> About phone> Status> below MEID is IMEI), if a hacker gets that IMEI you are completely vulnerable. To me having an Anti-Virus app like "Dr. Web Light" is like wearing a Condom, it's not 100% but it's better than nothing. I can also deal with the battery loss, as the loss has continued to drop since 4.1.1, but I'm also Underclocked so I have better battery life.
And if you need another example outside of Cerberus, remember a few years ago when Angry Birds came out, take a look at this article. Clearly the article states that Google had to remove apps out of their Playstore because of the theft that was taking place from hackers taking advantage of peoples interest in the popular game, again losing IMEI is a big deal. If you need more examples, I can throw them out all day long. :biggrin:
Google is Spyware, why not ask Google why they took down all the Best Ad Blocker Apps from their Playstore. You could also ask JRummy the creator of ROM Toolbox which, IMO has the best Ad Blocker ever, reach out to him here... email at jrummy.apps@gmail.com.
Okay, so here's where I stand. I contacted Avast and they said they had never heard of this phenomenon but furnished detailed instructions on how to uninstall their app completely, which I did. This made no difference. So then I down loaded Firefox and it seemed better for a short while and then started doing the exact same thing as Chrome. I then reinstalled Avast and ran a system virus scan including the memory card. Nothing was detected. I then downloaded Opera (Mobile Classic) and it behaved the same as the others. The phone at this point isn't quite useless but also isn't remotely fully functional. By the way, the Avast program I'm using is free, so the comment about a ploy to get money isn't correct, unless they were to propose that their "full" (read: pay) version would solve things. I intend to discuss the matter further with them and also with Verizon and possibly Motorola I suppose. I did receive several sort of pop-ups stating that I "may have a virus" with an Androidesque fireplug-like icon but I took these to be probable virus carriers themselves or at best spoofs selling bogus anti-spyware software and so backed out the pages on which they appeared. I certainly wasn't about to click on something so generic. I will post updates god knows when given the holiday... :-(
May I suggest a free app called Clean Master? Once installed run a cache and residual files clean.
Also, you're not running a task killer are you? If so turn it off, reboot your phone, see if problem goes away
Support Our Troops!!!
<><
Notate
Thought I had posted an update yesterday but don't see it here. Perhaps it's on another thread, I'm not sure. To recap. I contacted Avast and they said that they'd never heard of this problem but furnished detailed instructions on how to uninstall their program, which I did. This made no difference. I then downloaded Firefox and it seemed a tad better for a short while and then behaved exactly as had Chrome. I then reinstalled Avast and ran a complete scan including my SD card. It found nothing. I then downloaded Opera (Mobile Classic) and it was no better. Finally, last night we went to the theatre and I duly powered off my phone and, as usual, forgot to turn it back on until much later that evening. Then... Presto! The phone is back to normal and seemingly faster than ever, even with Avast installed. I hadn't even bothered to mention that the thing had become insanely slow, even to load the home page widgets or apps list. I would love to hear any explanation for this as no one I heard suggested powering down and I'm not remotely sufficiently ept to understand why this should help. At any rate, a most happy ending indeed. For now...
Webbslinger
New Member
Screen returns to home page
My phone also reverts to home screen while in the middle of using the browser. I am not using any spy ware and it doesn't have anything to do with clearing the cash. I don't remember this being a problem before Jelly Bean update. To get it to work again the phone must be turned off and rebooted. This seems to be happening more frequently now. Daily I guess. Very annoying. I would sure like to see the new line of droids address some of these issues rather than what color the cases are. And it seems bizarre that you would have to use Fire Fox (as one person suggested) on a Google phone because Chrome is messing it up.
My phone also reverts to home screen while in the middle of using the browser. I am not using any spy ware and it doesn't have anything to do with clearing the cash. I don't remember this being a problem before Jelly Bean update. To get it to work again the phone must be turned off and rebooted. This seems to be happening more frequently now. Daily I guess. Very annoying. I would sure like to see the new line of droids address some of these issues rather than what color the cases are. And it seems bizarre that you would have to use Fire Fox (as one person suggested) on a Google phone because Chrome is messing it up.