[Styker]

I currently do not have any anti virus technology on my smartphone and the smartphone I have is the first proper one I have bought too.

I wouldn't mind to start using my phone to do banking and order things from but obviously I'm reluctant to start doing that until I can get some anti virus technology installed, but which ones should I go for?

[ramraideruk]

I'm not an anti-virus expert but I do remember Avast being recommended. I've got it on my Huawei P9 and it seems to work fine. It's free. If anyone knows of a better one, I'd be happy to know.

[Styker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramraideruk

I'm not an anti-virus expert but I do remember Avast being recommended. I've got it on my Huawei P9 and it seems to work fine. It's free. If anyone knows of a better one, I'd be happy to know.

I just read a review on Avast and it seems to go on about protcting apps like Google Play ones, but what about Banking apps, ebay? (that's for anyone who can answer the question btw) Will I be protected using those apps on my phone too with Avast or any other anti virus app?

[Thine Wonk]

None, they only really check app reputation anyway as the OS is restricted to only communicate with the underlying system via APIs.

Basically don't install rogue apps, check the reputation before you install. If you want to install apps outside of the official stores and not check the reputation then you may want to consider an anti-virus, but consider it basically an "app reputation scanner' as that's all they really are.

[Gigabit]

None.

[Styker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

None, they only really check app reputation anyway as the OS is restricted to only communicate with the underlying system via APIs.

Basically don't install rogue apps, check the reputation before you install. If you want to install apps outside of the official stores and not check the reputation then you may want to consider an anti-virus, but consider it basically an "app reputation scanner' as that's all they really are.

So are you of the view that it is not safe/smart to use mobile phones to do banking transactions, ordering items, paying for items and inputting debit card details?

[corf]

I do all of the above without any AV on Android and Apple.

[Thine Wonk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Styker

So are you of the view that it is not safe/smart to use mobile phones to do banking transactions, ordering items, paying for items and inputting debit card details?

It is perfectly safe, the apps are sandboxed unlike on a desktop and the app itself would use tls/ssl encryption if you're using a banking app. They also authenticate the device too.

I'd say mobile banking is much safer than desktop banking, just always be careful what apps you install though. You'll be safe with reputable apps like what'sapp, but if you go installing games that have only recently appeared on the store without checking reviews and then accept the permissions for full device access then that's a risk, but even then due to app sandboxing you're likely to be ok banking.

If you have a phone that is running newer versions of Android and has security updates even better. Apps are limited to what they can do, each app can do a set list of things with the OS, they are not permitted to interfere with other apps, therefore antivirus on android and iphone is fairly useless / not needed. They can't scan or access the underlying Kernel, they can't prevent install of a bad app, they are really just an "app advisor" for checking if you've already installed an app that has a known bad reputation.

[Styker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

It is perfectly safe, the apps are sandboxed unlike on a desktop and the app itself would use tls/ssl encryption if you're using a banking app. They also authenticate the device too.

I'd say mobile banking is much safer than desktop banking, just always be careful what apps you install though. You'll be safe with reputable apps like what'sapp, but if you go installing games that have only recently appeared on the store without checking reviews and then accept the permissions for full device access then that's a risk, but even then due to app sandboxing you're likely to be ok banking.

If you have a phone that is running newer versions of Android and has security updates even better. Apps are limited to what they can do, each app can do a set list of things with the OS, they are not permitted to interfere with other apps, therefore antivirus on android and iphone is fairly useless / not needed. They can't scan or access the underlying Kernel, they can't prevent install of a bad app, they are really just an "app advisor" for checking if you've already installed an app that has a known bad reputation.

Thanks for your post. I have a Samsung Galaxy A3 which I bought a year ago this month actually. What's your take on the cookie's setting for the internet on the phone? I think it was set automatically to allow websites to read and store cookies and I briefly tried setting that off but I got the impression using the web generally wouldn't work as well with the settings off.