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A good anti-virus and anti-spyware ?
- Thread starter yozz
- Start date
You don't need it. You have nothing to worry about. They are resource hogs anyway.
nlinecomputers
Member
Name one known, in the wild, android virus? This anit Windows Xp and it's 100,000 virues. I've heard of ONE such virus in Russia. Kaspersky reported it but other then that....
Theres an Android Trojan Virus Running Around
Android is a Linux OS. It is VERY hard to make a virus for a Linux OS, and even harder to get the user to execute it. Also, Android is just a smartphone platform. This makes it an even smaller part of the market. Because of these reasons, viruses are very few and far between, making anti-viruses and spyware programs useless.
droidman101
Member
Even that link says that it had permissions for the app to do sms messages
Yeah, no program is going to stop you from downloading an app that gets permissions like that. Just be on the look out for suspicious apps and pay attention to what permissions they want.
Call me paranoid, but just because it is 'hard' to program a virus for a system, does not necessarily mean it isn't impossible for one to happen.
Macintosh made prior claims to that as well, and Mac OS X's primary root base is a Linux version. Problem is, it also has a few viruses. Few and far between, there is still viruses for many platforms and it can and will happen.
The one thing that helps, however, is just being cautious. Simply stating that you won't get a virus because it is a Linux core... Is just inviting problems.
Also, the reason why PCs are getting a brunt of the problem is the coding tools they have put out there for every joe schmoe to code stuff and the sloppy coding in general is part of the reason, but also the fact that the majority computer market is PC, which includes Businesses. The target will always be for the most popular thing.
In closer to mobile phones, there have been the occasional virus for the iPhone, one of the more popular Smartphones. Since the iPhone is more popular and easier to get apps for than the Blackberry, it is currently the biggest target.
The important thing to note also, is history... People are too quick to forget certain things.
Macintosh, when it was popular among the schools and homes... Was the most easily infected computer OS in the 80s and early 90s for one simple reason... The ease of use of the OS and its popularity. PCs had viruses, but were far and few between simply on the fact that it required execution and transmission was rather difficult. The Mac OS suffered it the most simply on a simple design of how Floppy disks worked for it.
Windows became the new virus focused one due to market share kiltered it over with the ease of use with Win95 and the coding that opened it up to easily do viral transmission. With coding tools to increase the ease of making such things and the slowness in fixing holes that people can exploit... It will continue to hold that mantle until the shift in popularity and ease of creating such things shift once again.
Macintosh made prior claims to that as well, and Mac OS X's primary root base is a Linux version. Problem is, it also has a few viruses. Few and far between, there is still viruses for many platforms and it can and will happen.
The one thing that helps, however, is just being cautious. Simply stating that you won't get a virus because it is a Linux core... Is just inviting problems.
Also, the reason why PCs are getting a brunt of the problem is the coding tools they have put out there for every joe schmoe to code stuff and the sloppy coding in general is part of the reason, but also the fact that the majority computer market is PC, which includes Businesses. The target will always be for the most popular thing.
In closer to mobile phones, there have been the occasional virus for the iPhone, one of the more popular Smartphones. Since the iPhone is more popular and easier to get apps for than the Blackberry, it is currently the biggest target.
The important thing to note also, is history... People are too quick to forget certain things.
Macintosh, when it was popular among the schools and homes... Was the most easily infected computer OS in the 80s and early 90s for one simple reason... The ease of use of the OS and its popularity. PCs had viruses, but were far and few between simply on the fact that it required execution and transmission was rather difficult. The Mac OS suffered it the most simply on a simple design of how Floppy disks worked for it.
Windows became the new virus focused one due to market share kiltered it over with the ease of use with Win95 and the coding that opened it up to easily do viral transmission. With coding tools to increase the ease of making such things and the slowness in fixing holes that people can exploit... It will continue to hold that mantle until the shift in popularity and ease of creating such things shift once again.
If your paranoid, install an antivirus app and then live with a slow laggy device.
Not worth it IMHO.
Not worth it IMHO.
nlinecomputers
Member
How can an antivirus protect you if there are NO known viruses? What exactly are you being protected against? How can it stop something that has yet to be written. Even in the Windows and Mac world the AV program protects you against lists of known viruses. How can any Droid AV program be anything other then a scam? Seriously. I appreciate and respect your concern but AV protection on a droid is like hiring someone to protect you from Zombies.
You're paranoid. Per your request.
I don't know about the 80's, I do know about Macs in the 90's and it wasn't a problem then. There hasn't been a virus on a Mac in over 5 years.
People who make viruses want the large market, not the small one and the large market is Windows. That's where all the action is.
I've ran virus protection on my Mac, I foolishly wasted something like 80.00 on the "best" virus protection I could get. But it hogged my resources so much it made my iMac running Snow Leopard 10.4.6 run like Windows XP. Maybe slower. Anyway it's always fun to see peoples opinions about Virus protection. It's totally unnecessary but it's your phone if you want it then by all means have it.
+1 for Bill. They don't work and are useless.
+1 nline ...
Secondly to your question, is your phone rooted?
If it is not, then you stand zero chance of a malicious item causing OS mischef, because it would need root in order to do so.
Be paranoid, however it is extremely hard to code something for linux based systems, and even harder to get a user to run it if it got into the system (why do you think major server systems are linux based in the first place?)
The little bastards stay with indows because anyone can grab a kit off the net and produce a rudimentary virus for use, but to make one for linux, and in that vein, android takes KNOWLEDGE that they just don't have.
As for non root, watch what you download, but heck, this is not the first thread on AV and android, plenty out there, no need to rehash. Of course you could always go to winmobile ...
Secondly to your question, is your phone rooted?
If it is not, then you stand zero chance of a malicious item causing OS mischef, because it would need root in order to do so.
Be paranoid, however it is extremely hard to code something for linux based systems, and even harder to get a user to run it if it got into the system (why do you think major server systems are linux based in the first place?)
The little bastards stay with indows because anyone can grab a kit off the net and produce a rudimentary virus for use, but to make one for linux, and in that vein, android takes KNOWLEDGE that they just don't have.
As for non root, watch what you download, but heck, this is not the first thread on AV and android, plenty out there, no need to rehash. Of course you could always go to winmobile ...