PC behaving strangely after moving iPad photos to external disk ~ symptoms of hidden spyware?

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26 points

PC behaving strangely after moving iPad photos to external disk ~ symptoms of hidden spyware?

For the first time on my PC, I recently moved a large number of photos from my newly acquired iPad Air 2 64GB @ iOS 15 with only 2 free gigabytes left, onto an external hard drive, using my only ASUS PC containing a terabyte (also only operating at 2 free gigabytes ☹️), but ever since I did such, my said PC has been acting strangely; I’m suddenly getting adult adds on YouTube, the cache for my location (for deliveries) has been wiped off my PC browser, and it changed my PC background to one of the moved photos all by itself without selecting to do so, almost glitching out when trying to move a photo from my iPad to my external hard drive (NOT onto the PC storage itself), but it’s almost like the iPad installed some kind of bug to my computer. I am the only one who uses both devices. There could be more things that pop up as I discover them as well.

These variables could be due to a lot of things, such as in optimal operating space, and it could be a coincidence, but it has not behaved in this weird glitchy/sketchy way before meeting this iPad, which I was given from a so called “friend” (whom I’m not sure has my best interests at heart…) and very possibly could have jailbroken it in the past while this iPad was their possession. I erased all the content and settings a few times as well as updated before I ever even started using this iPad, but could potential (probable) malpractice in the hands of the previous owner show up like this on my PC, do these incidences sound like there could be some hidden (invisible) residual spyware/bugs from the iPad now affecting my computer (which also may very well have been compromised years ago), as well as seep into my Apple ID and infect it too and affect any new device I sign into it on ~ say I ditched this iPad for a brand-new one and restored my old content, would I ever be able escape from potential spyware? Could this affect my other personal accounts as well?

iPad Air 2

Posted on Oct 27, 2025 1:51 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 27, 2025 4:13 AM in response to ActualHelp

Due to the system architecture of iOS/iPadOS, unless jailbroken (don’t go there!), your iPad is not susceptible to traditional malware infection per-se. However, as with all computer systems, there are still vulnerabilities and exploits to which you remain vulnerable.

Be wary of the myth that Apple devices are immune to malware; those that perpetuate this untruth do not fully comprehend the broader threat landscape. Consider that if the myth (and over-generalisation) were true, Apple would not expend considerable resources (as they do) in developing and issuing regular security updates and patches for their products.

While your iPad itself is unlikely to be directly infected by malware, it is still possible to easily download an “infected” file to the iPad - which if transferred elsewhere (such as your PC) still has the capacity to infect other computer systems with malware.

Hopefully your PC will have appropriate Anti-Virus software installed and operating. Given the behaviour that you describe, it is possible that the PC has been infected with malware - the infection vector, among other potential sources, being a file originating from your iPad. How you might optimally approach cleaning-up your PC is something that you can research elsewhere.

There are no true Antivirus Products available for iOS/iPadOS. Those that claim to provide AV protection are little more than “snake oil”, have negligible (if any benefit) and for Apple devices should generally be avoided. Very often, Apps of this nature introduce more issues than added benefit.

Unlike traditional Operating Systems with which you may be familiar, iOS/iPadOS uses a sandboxed security architecture. As such, Apps cannot access any data outside of their own sandbox - and cannot access the storage and resources of other Apps. As such, it is impossible for an Anti-Virus App to scan the filesystem.

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Answer 2

Oct 27, 2025 4:37 PM in response to ActualHelp

If the iPad has been jailbroken, the various protections afforded by the OS have been potentially compromised/bypassed - and as such iPadOS is no longer "secure". Erasing/resetting the iPad will not, of itself, restore the iPad's nominal security measures.

The only way to remove an applied jailbreak is to restore the iPad to factory settings using a computer - this process completely re-installing a fresh copy of the most recent version of iPadOS supported by your iPad:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings using a computer - Apple Support

As for restoring an iTunes/iCloud backup, this process will reinstall all files included in the backup to the target iPad - be they "clean" or potentially malware infected. As already outlined, while the malware may not represent a direct threat to the iPad, any such file has the capacity to inflect any other vulnerable computer to which the infected file is subsequently transferred.

To be clear, any iOS/iPadOS device can be a potential malware reservoir (just like any other storage device) - regardless of whether or not the device has been jailbroken. Jailbreaking removes the system-level measures that protect the device itself from vulnerabilities and exploits.

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Answer 3

ActualHelp Author

Level 1

26 points

Oct 27, 2025 3:41 PM in response to LotusPilot

Lotus, thank you so much for your helpful reply!

LotusPilot wrote:

Due to the system architecture of iOS/iPadOS, unless jailbroken (don’t go there!), your iPad is not susceptible to traditional malware infection per-se. However, as with all computer systems, there are still vulnerabilities and exploits to which you remain vulnerable.

Does that still remain true if it was jailbroken in the past (guaranteed), but isn’t anymore in my care ~ that it’d be less susceptible in its present (proper) state?

While your iPad itself is unlikely to be directly infected by malware, it is still possible to easily download an “infected” file to the iPad - which if transferred elsewhere (such as your PC) still has the capacity to infect other computer systems with malware.

So, can this kind of corruptive file be acquired from everyday usage, or does it usually suggest malicious acts like I’ve suspected?

What is the typical source/s of infected files with iPads - I don’t download internet images or from emails, only take screenshots if I must… and for the rest, I use the built in camera.

Also, any potential infected file like that that may’ve already been on the iPad when it was given to me, would that threat have been neutralized when I reset the iPad to factory settings by erasing the content multiple times?

Hopefully your PC will have appropriate Anti-Virus software installed and operating. Given the behaviour that you describe, it is possible that the PC has been infected with malware - the infection vector, among other potential sources, being a file originating from your iPad. How you might optimally approach cleaning-up your PC is something that you can research elsewhere.

There are no true Antivirus Products available for iOS/iPadOS. Those that claim to provide AV protection are little more than “snake oil”, have negligible (if any benefit) and for Apple devices should generally be avoided. Very often, Apps of this nature introduce more issues than added benefit.

Unlike traditional Operating Systems with which you may be familiar, iOS/iPadOS uses a sandboxed security architecture. As such, Apps cannot access any data outside of their own sandbox - and cannot access the storage and resources of other Apps. As such, it is impossible for an Anti-Virus App to scan the filesystem.

Now, the computer, I can fix, but great, so then what do I even do about cleaning up this iPad? If the infected vector was a photo, and has been relocated to an external drive, is the iPad theoretically cleared? Would I have to move all my photos to be in the clear?

Would restoring to factory settings then restoring my content after also reinstall the same bug?

You bring up a good point about the sandbox structure. Can game apps corrupt photos even without giving app permissions access to them? What about going forward, should I delete most of them, and if so, would merely deleting them be enough to rid a bug?

I know it’s difficult to say for sure, but with all this in mind about a bug in my content being more likely than the iPad itself being compromised, it is really imperative for me to know how serious the possibility of active spyware really actually is - if I’d need to change my account passwords, deal with damage control of spied-on notes and bookmarks, as well as most importantly quarantine my other devices signed in with the same Apple ID???

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