Phone Issue- Software Keeps Installing on Android Phone

[Bernkastel]

Right, this is an issue I've been trying to deal with for a number of days. There are two apps that keep appearing on my phone, Android Innovation and Smart Note. Trying to remove them on safe mode and clearing the cache does not get rid of them permanently. They keep appearing even on safe mode with no internet connection. My phone also keeps trying to put com.extensions.hybrid on my phone. Most of the time, playprotect stops it, but it does appear in my list of apps at times. A factory reset does not work either. Also, I have enabled USB debugging and made sure the USB configuration is MTP, but my phone is not recognized by my laptop. So, I can't seem to do anything on my laptop to fix my phone.

[Dominus Atheos]

More information about these apps please. There are a million apps named "Smart Note".

Also phone make model and provider.

Might just be annoying shovelware your phone manufacturer or cellular provider is trying to force on your phone.

[Bernkastel]

More information about these apps please. There are a million apps named "Smart Note".

Also phone make model and provider.

Might just be annoying shovelware your phone manufacturer or cellular provider is trying to force on your phone.

The phone model is Ulefone S7. My service provider is O2. The apps only appeared, if I remember correctly, when I accidentally clicked on an add. As I said, a factory reset results in the apps being back on immediately. From asking around, I've so far gathered it's some sort of trojan horse. It also might be reinstalling itself via the stage in the factory reset where it needs to connect to the internet, but that I don't really know what is happening. I do know both apps are on my phone right away after a factory reboot. It's also after the reappearance of the two apps that my phone tries to install the com. app. This gets blocked by play protect, though I need to be awake to deal with the apps and the message by play protect. Also, my google play account does not list either app. I've had this phone since March last year and nothing like this has happened until December.

[Vendetta]

Malwarebytes have an android malware removal tool.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/android/

Might be worth giving it a go.

Android store and software environment is kinda wide open for exploitation, so you need an anti-malware solution there more than you do even on Windows these days.

[Bernkastel]

I've tried malwarebytes. It allows both apps on my phone and overrides play protect for the com.android.extensions.hybrid.app