Malwarebytes for Android and ChromeOS version 3 offers a scanner to detect ransomware, malware, adware, spyware, and potentially unwanted programs on your device. You can scan your device on demand whether you have Malwarebytes Free or Malwarebytes Premium versions. This article describes how to initiate a scan, and how to interpret the results of your scan.
Run a scan in Malwarebytes for Android or Chromebook
- Open Malwarebytes for Android or Malwarebytes for Chromebook.
- In the upper-left corner, tap the Menu icon.
- Tap Scanner.
- Tap Run a scan. Malwarebytes may take a few seconds or minutes to scan your device.
Malwarebytes provides a counter of how many threats were detected if any were found. If no malware was found, your device is safe for now.
Interpreting scan results
On the Scanner page, you can scroll down to see Previous scans. These listed items show information on previous scan times, number of items scanned, the time taken, and when new apps were installed. Each item appears with different color bullets in front of the text. Green is good, orange represents a non-critical issue, and red is critical. The following is a list of different items that may appear in your Previous scans list, and what each color means for each item.
On-demand scan
- Green: An on-demand scan completed with no issues detected. Scans that were stopped before completion are not recorded.
- Orange: Potentially unwanted programs were detected during an on-demand scan. Scans that were stopped before completion are not recorded. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
- Red: Malware was detected during an on-demand scan. Scans that were stopped before completion are not recorded. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
Scheduled scan
- Green: A scheduled completed with no issues detected.
- Orange: Potentially unwanted programs were detected during a scheduled scan. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
- Red: Malware was detected during a scheduled scan. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
Scan after update
- Orange: Potentially unwanted programs were detected during a scan after the signature database updated. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
- Red: Malware was detected during a scan after the signature database updated. Potentially unwanted programs may also have been found. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
SD-card scanner
- Orange: Potentially unwanted programs were detected during an SD memory card scan.
- Red: Malware was detected during an SD memory card scan. Potentially unwanted programs may also have been found.
Reboot scan
- Orange: Potentially unwanted programs were detected during a scan that occurred after a device reboot.
- Red: Malware was detected during a scan that occurred after a device reboot. Potentially unwanted programs may also have been found.
File monitor
- Orange: Real-Time Protection detected potentially unwanted programs during a file transfer. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
- Red: Real-Time Protection detected malware during a file transfer. Potentially unwanted programs may also have been found. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
App installation
- Orange: Real-Time Protection was triggered by installation of a potentially unwanted program. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
- Red: Real-Time Protection was triggered by installation of a file identified as malware. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
App execution
- Orange: Real-Time Protection was triggered by execution of a potentially unwanted program. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
- Red: Real-Time Protection was triggered by execution of a file identified as malware. You must allow, ignore or delete files causing this alert.
Return to the Malwarebytes for Android and Chromebook guide.