I was browsing in Chrome with a brand new phone which thankfully did not have anything on it. Despite clearing all the app data (which normally cleans out browse-by if it's just annoying page javascript in my experience) the damn vibrate, play noises and throw multiple pop-ups just kept on coming and would not let me close them.
I had to resort to a factory wipe to clean it; it was not a great deal since it was a phone I'd literally today just taken out the box, but if it had been something I had data on and used for a while, it would have been a serious PITA.
I suspect the ad network malware pumper saw the visit spike and decided the traffic volume warranted an exploit delivery instead of their usual junk ad content.
So, if I start my phone and browse normally, and don't see, hear, or feel any popups, noises, or vibrations, I'm good? And perhaps I should clear out my Firefox app data? I shut it down because you mentioned root and malware, and if the malware can root a device, it probably can hide itself pretty well and make it impossible to get it out.
I had to resort to a factory wipe to clean it; it was not a great deal since it was a phone I'd literally today just taken out the box, but if it had been something I had data on and used for a while, it would have been a serious PITA.
I suspect the ad network malware pumper saw the visit spike and decided the traffic volume warranted an exploit delivery instead of their usual junk ad content.