Is an anti virus for an android phone required. If so any idea on what one is best

I've tried avast and avg but always ended up uninstalling.

Be careful what privileges an app is asking for when you are installing it and check for reviews and number of downloads.

I've started using Lookout and haven't had problems so far.

The consensus at the current time seems to be no for android - it's secure enough out of the box. In addition, the latest version, Jelly Bean also has some memory mapping randomizing improvement where code moves about so it makes it even harder for any viruses to be effective.

Thanks for the replies. One more question any idea when jelly bean will be rolled out ?

It's really malware I've Lookout for. I read about apps that sent out texts to premium rate services. I don't have any anti virus app on my Nexus 7.

Google search for Jelly Bean and your phone model to see if the manufacturer has announced if/when it will get the update. Then it depends on your network provider as to when they will update and push out the update, unless your phone is "unbranded" in which case it would be sooner.

Depends what device you have...maybe never

Atrix been looking on google but cant find any dates for official release. Plenty of downloads for unofficial jelly bean mod but not going to install it.

Considering Motorola haven't even made a decision about an ICS update for the European Atrix models yet I wouldn't get your hopes up for any more official updates.

https://forums.motorola.com/pages/00add97d6c

Shocking situation really, as the Atrix is a decent device that's more than capable of running ICS and JB. Sadly though it seems to be par for the course for non-Nexus Android devices.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...s-8119841.html

A timely warning that policing 500,000+ apps is going to be rough on any platform.
I limit my choice of apps and even big ones which ask for too many permissions I avoid.

Anyone recommend a permission guard for others?

To me HTML, Flash and Java as a web app framework is heaven compared to single installed apps for everything!

http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products...e-edition.aspx

I haven't tried it but I use sophos on my mac & I'm very pleased.

Your best protection would be

What if you dont have a signal? or are doing computational tasks or even gaming?

Apps do more than order pizza you know

Big surprise. A founder of a software security company thinks we should do more security.

And the statistic on the increasing level of threat is totally meaningless. If they have real data, they should provide it.

But most don't even do that so they never get installed.

Thats very true. And a lot of others do much much more.

I can well remember the days when browsing the internet on dial up you could find yourself on sites that just would not let you out without physically disconnecting the modem and waiting for Windows 95 blue screens of death to get over the shock. I think it is inevitable that cyber attacks on smartphones using the main OS systems will increase and that before too long AV software providers will be offering free apps with your PC software as a matter of course especially if NFC takes off which even the backers accept http://www.nfcworld.com/2012/08/01/3...lnerabilities/

I have no problem with people predicting that at some point in the future AV for phones might be needed.

It is for everyone to judge the risk for themselves, but for how I use my phone I see no need at all for AV at the moment.

My main complaint was the meaningless statistic provided to try and back up the scare mungering.

I had a free one off the Play store (think it was called Zoner or something like that).

I had no problem with it, and but thought I would go with the free Karpasky offer that Barclays were doing (thinking that if I ever had any problems them it was Barclays choice of AV software).

They both don't seem to have slowed my S3 down, and but not sure about older slower phones?