there is plenty of malware out there and an AV is a good idea.
in android you can get drive by downloads all the time. which granted you need to change a setting to install. or it is not unheard of for developers to lose access to their accounts and push compromised updates.
there is no reason to not install AV. i have used AVG and lookout security. in addition to the AV they both have find my phone type features where they can locate it for you remotely, make it make a noise even when it's on silent. and lookout will send you a photo if someone tries to unlock it 5 times.
Originally Posted by flagpole: “there is plenty of malware out there and an AV is a good idea.
in android you can get drive by downloads all the time. which granted you need to change a setting to install. or it is not unheard of for developers to lose access to their accounts and push compromised updates.
there is no reason to not install AV. i have used AVG and lookout security. in addition to the AV they both have find my phone type features where they can locate it for you remotely, make it make a noise even when it's on silent. and lookout will send you a photo if someone tries to unlock it 5 times.”
Do you work for an A/V vendor?
There are no real world "drive by" downloads for Android. Windows, yes. But not for Android. Stop scaremongering.
I think it is well worth having some protection. Also there is a need for a bit of vigilance on behalf of the user, especially if you are side loading cracked or dodgy pirated games etc.
The Android security model is good, assuming you are not rooted but applications can be given access to SMS, phone dialler, pictures and any data on the SD card.
There could easily be apps that scam you on SMS's look for username passwords on the SD card and so on.
One example :
There is the Master Key Virus in Android which takes advantage of a flaw in the way apk files get verified. If there are 2 identical files in the package then it checks the cryptographic signature of the first file but will actually use the second file which could contain malware. This I believe was fixed in 4.2.2 and later by google but there are probably a lot of devices that still have this vulnerability.
Originally Posted by clonmult: “Do you work for an A/V vendor?
There are no real world "drive by" downloads for Android. Windows, yes. But not for Android. Stop scaremongering.”
you see this is a difficult post for me to answer.
i know as fact that there are a lot of drive by downloads on android, i see it myself everyday. it is well documented. you have applied a false logic, that because you haven't seen it it does not exist. and you have accused me of basically lying to further my own interests. so i am not particularly minded to be courteous.
nonetheless as politely as possible i would say you are completely wrong, despite speaking authoritatively you know nothing of what you're talking about. and you are giving dangerous and incorrect advice.
We have only downloaded a few common apps from the play store, dont do any banking, or paid apps, or anything that needs payment or passwords etc.
Or dont go browsing the web just because we can.
Had one for a year or so, never detected a thing and uninstalled fed up of the slow down as it scanned apps when updating. Unless you're installing apps from here there and everywhere i dont see the point
Android does not run normal low level code so in that way, it is in fact the safest system. However misbehaving apps can still steal your privacy if you give them 'permission' on install.
Because it does not run low level code it needs AV less than other mobile systems. Obviously an AV cannot really tell whether an app is using your data legitimately. (note that I'm describing Android in its standard unrooted guise)
if you just install apps from the Play Store(which I reckon is most users), and keep "install from unknown sources" unchecked, you don't need antivirus.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing - there'll be a small segment of people confident enough to mess around with unofficial apps but not being able to judge malware risks.
Then there's the pros that know exactly what they're doing and can spot malware a mile off.
Only the middle group need AV on android in my opinion.
I've got Avast and Malwarebytes on my android phone and tablet. It's the same combination I have on my Windows PCs.
They don't seem to slow me down, as far as I can tell, but they've never found any problems either.
I don't bother with antivirus on my Linux boxes, and Android is essentially Linux, but I thought it prudent to have some protection on Android, as the number of devices out there mean it's likely to be targetted.
Originally Posted by paulbrock: “if you just install apps from the Play Store(which I reckon is most users), and keep "install from unknown sources" unchecked, you don't need antivirus.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing - there'll be a small segment of people confident enough to mess around with unofficial apps but not being able to judge malware risks.
Then there's the pros that know exactly what they're doing and can spot malware a mile off.
Only the middle group need AV on android in my opinion.”
Although I tend to agree with you. I've always found it strange that Samsung struck a deal with AVG to give samsung users the full function software for free from their App Store. They also made a big press release about it at the time.
Surely that was giving out the wrong message, as it suggest anti-virus is needed.
Originally Posted by kidspud: “Although I tend to agree with you. I've always found it strange that Samsung struck a deal with AVG to give samsung users the full function software for free from their App Store. They also made a big press release about it at the time.
Surely that was giving out the wrong message, as it suggest anti-virus is needed.”
It looks a good freebie and makes people think Samsung/AVG are looking out for them.
I expcet as the years go by and virus/malware writers get more advanced anti-virus programs ill be more needed on phones/tablets and it certainly does not hurt to get used to having one running.
I installed Avast on my phone as very occasionally do banking or buy from amazon and if the bank account did get hacked, at least I can tell the bank that my phone has AV. Not sure if I really need it though. It's unobtrusive.
I also use cache cleaner every day.
I got hacked once (no idea how) with some scumfeatures almost succeeding in buying 2 laptops, so very cautious.