How to remove privacy guard, easy tool, monkey test and time service malware from an MTK (Mediatek) Android phone



how to remove android monkey test time service malware virus

Quite a number of fans have complained about encountering this issue either on other peoples MTK Android phones or theirs so we’ll be discussing these malware, how they affect your Android phone and how to permanently remove them.

How did I get infected?

In my previous article on removing Malware from an Android phone (see https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-remove-adware-from-an-android-phone/), I discussed some methods by which malware infect your Android phone. The easiest point of entry for an Android phone is the application(s) you install. Considering how popular the Android platform is and how many Android apps there are, its not hard to imagine why hackers would exploit this. The most potent carriers of malware are cracked / nulled apps (using malware crypters and binders).

Are they harmful to my Android phone?

If you’ve ever experienced these apps then you would know that they not only auto-update but also install unsolicited applications on your phone (using up your data plan). Adware are just a few steps away from harvesting your personal information so why wouldn’t they go all the way? You will also get a lot of has stopped errors like “unfortunately adobe air has stopped”, “unfortunately measure has stopped” and this could be very frustrating.

Why wont uninstalling / factory resetting remove them?

Uninstalling them under Settings >Apps or doing a factory reset would have been effective if only these apps were fully installed in the /data partition. After uninstalling, all you need to do is reboot your phone and they’re back again like nothing happened.

How then do I remove privacy guard, easy tool, monkey test and time service from my phone?

Consider the following methods:

1. Locate the malicious apks under /system/apps, data/app, vendor/operator/app , system/priv-app, system/preloadapp or anywhere they’re installed to and delete them. For Monkey Test and Time Service, the apks to delete are cameraupdate.apk, providerCertificate.apk, providerdown.apk and themeManags.apk (see https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-remove-bloatware-on-an-android-phone/ for the Bloatware removal techniques ). The phone needs to be rooted in order to use this method (see https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-root-android-easily-without-pc/ to know more about rooting an Android phone)

2. Install a good antivirus like 360 security , Stopbadapp , AVG , Ghost Push Trojan Killer, Avast or Malwarebytes and scan the phone.

3. Use the custom recovery backup and restore method:

  • Get a working phone of the same model (without the malware issue)
  • Flash a custom recovery to both phones using the method at https://www.hovatek.com/forum/thread-455.html and backup the working phone in recovery mode (see https://www.hovatek.com/forum/thread-479.html for how to boot into recovery mode)
  • Copy the backup folder from the SD card of the working phone to the SD card of the malware infected phone (ensure to maintain the folder structure)
  • Boot the malware infected phone into recovery mode and format System under Mounts & Storage
  • Return to the main menu and restore the backup of the working phone under Backup & Restore > Restore

4. Format then flash using SP Flash Tool

My phone is stuck at brand logo after deleting something wrong in the /system folder. How do I fix my phone?

You need to flash back system.img or system.ext4.tar depending on the format that your /system directory is in the ROM. Please, create a new thread at our forum and our reps will provide free step by step assistance (see https://www.hovatek.com/forum/thread-514.html for how to create a thread) .

Hovatek….just a button away!



74 thoughts on “How to remove privacy guard, easy tool, monkey test and time service malware from an MTK (Mediatek) Android phone”

    1. You can install an antimalware then scan the device.
      If the device is rootedd, I can guide you through another method using LinkSD

  1. Hi.MY PHONE IS TECHNO R7 AND I HAVED BEEN INVADED BY APPS LIKE TIMES SERVICE,APUS,GOOGLE SERVICES AND OTHERS WHICH ARE REPLICATING THEMSELVES.PLEASE HELP TO SOLVE THIS PUZZLE.I HAVE TRIED TO FORMAT AND ALSO SCANNING THRU ANTI VIRUS AVG BUT ALL FUTILE

    1. Thats weird. How exactly did you format the phone? did you use the SP Flash Tool method above?

  2. my phone model is Techno R7.whenever I switch on the data unwanted apps r downloaded like APUS,GOOGLE SERVICE,TIMES SERVICE etc.Am very annoyed coz I cant use my phone.please help

      1. If someone downloads an app let’s say a game but when it’s imbibing malwares and his phone becomes infected, if I share such a game from their phone and install it on mine, can I also get infected with the same malwares?

  3. I can’t use my usb anymore, is it a virus or what? It even takes a long tym before it charges.. I use infinix hot note. Pls help

  4. There is nothing much, nway u told me that the variant 3 stock ROM will be available in a week’s time, but it now almost 2 weeks now

Comments are closed.

live chat
whatsapp telegram instagram
Scroll to Top