# I hate to sound paranoid (about phone trying to unlock a secure folder) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2025, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487 "2025-12-07T04:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/1 "2025-12-07T04:59:06Z")
My phone keeps wanting me to unlock my secure folder. This is a recent development. Notifications pop up and if I click it, it goes to my secure folder login. I did login to see where it ended up and it was a calendar entry that was not secure. Why is this happening? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/2 "2025-12-07T05:05:41Z")
You’ve probably been hacked. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/3 "2025-12-07T05:38:20Z")
A phone? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/4 "2025-12-07T05:40:51Z")
I’m no tech expert but, yeah phones get hacked all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/5 "2025-12-07T05:46:38Z")
I think I see my mistake. What is the best way to fight this? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/6 "2025-12-07T06:35:50Z")
You don’t specify the type of phone or provide many other descriptive details to go on. Does this describe your issue? > **[Calendar Virus: What it is, and how to get rid of it - TecSec Services Ltd](https://www.tecsec.co.uk/calendar-virus-what-it-is-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it/)** > > If you started seeing strange appointments or reminders popping up \[...\] ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/7 "2025-12-07T09:12:44Z")
The phone is a Samsung S23 FE. The notifications just say google. When I followed the link and logged into the secure folder, it went to an entry in Google Calendar. The notification seems tied to an event notification I set up, however I made the calendar entry in regular Google Calendar and not secure Google Calendar. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-to-sound-paranoid-about-phone-trying-to-unlock-a-secure-folder/1025487/8 "2025-12-08T02:29:48Z")
Suggest you back up and save anything critical, then do a factory reset and reinstall everything. To the extent possible, don’t save anything on your phone that could be exploited. Turn on two factor authentication for anything like banking. If it’s not on your phone, then it can’t be hacked on your phone. I recently finally got my first iPhone. I have been really careful to download only a minimum number off apps, delete old text messages, keep it as clean as practical, etc. Sure, I lose some convenience, but seems to be a small price to pay. YMMV.