Are they being serious when they say you need to have a virus scanner for your Android phone? I never understood who 'they' were and why 'they' recommend this but no doubt a lot of people have virus scanners on their phone. Phones are becoming more like computers nowadays, but I'm still adamant that 'they' are giving the wrong advice to people about this topic.
The Play Store and Malware
Android is not Windows, it doesn't need a virus scanner unless you're really pushing the envelope in terms of dodgy activities on your phone. For the average user of an Android smartphone, downloading apps from the Play store, browsing the web, checking social networking and so on are all perfectly safe tasks that you can do without the worry of malware (malicious software; an umbrella term for viruses, worms, trojan horses and so on). Sure there have been reports of malicious apps making their way onto Google's Play Store but Google is constantly monitoring the apps that are published on there using Bouncer, an automated system checking all apps published. Google also remotely monitor apps that are installed on phones to prevent an app that is later flagged as a virus or one might have been downloaded from a third party source remaining on the end user's phone. This technique might seen invasive but think of it as someone doing the rounds on the apps you have installed rather than rifling through your personal details.
Safest way to download
There are many ways that users can prevent a virus or other types of malware making their way onto their phones. It takes just a little bit of vigilance which will save you a lot of headache. The easiest way is to download apps from the Play Store as opposed to other sources. This will dramatically reduce the chances of having malware on your phone as any app on the Play Store will have gone through Google's checks before being made available. After all, when you download an app you only see the file size and you unless you're a programmer, you don't even know what the app contains. You end up having to trust the source you downloaded the app from. There are literally thousands of apps on the Internet that you could potentially download that would fool you into thinking they are genuine when really, they are running background processes doing who knows what to your phone.
Permissions, permissions, permissions!
Always check the permissions of any app you download. This might seem a bit time consuming but it's definitely worth doing. Always think about the app you are about to download to see if you can justify why they need the permissions stated. Most developers avoid asking for permissions which aren't required by their app as it arouses suspicion. You should also be wary of an app that requires new permissions during an update. Developers usually justify the reason for new permissions but think about whether it's actually needed or not. If not, simply don't update the app and voice your concerns to the developer.
Play in my Sandbox?
Android has a sandboxing feature which basically separates each application so that it only acts within certain parameters, namely the permissions it has been granted by you. This means applications cannot interact with each other so if a malicious app tries to read your contacts, it will simply fail if it does not have the specific permission. This is a very handy feature to prevent any apps running rampant on your phone. This feature doesn't allow apps to completely corrupt the phone's memory either, like you might see with other operating systems. The memory for each app is sandboxed too so if an app attempts any such thing, it will just end up crashing itself and nothing else, very handy if you end up in that situation. This safety feature drastically limits the damage a rouge app can do but doesn't eradicate the problem completely as the app can still carry out tasks within its given permissions which is why it is vital to check the permissions an app is asking for before installing.
Still not convinced?
If you're still worried about malware then obviously I can't stop you downloading a virus scanner but just bear in mind the safety features and failsafes built into Android and the common sense that you, as a user, can apply when downloading apps. Then make sure you free yourself from battery draining virus scanners!
Mo
The Play Store and Malware
Android is not Windows, it doesn't need a virus scanner unless you're really pushing the envelope in terms of dodgy activities on your phone. For the average user of an Android smartphone, downloading apps from the Play store, browsing the web, checking social networking and so on are all perfectly safe tasks that you can do without the worry of malware (malicious software; an umbrella term for viruses, worms, trojan horses and so on). Sure there have been reports of malicious apps making their way onto Google's Play Store but Google is constantly monitoring the apps that are published on there using Bouncer, an automated system checking all apps published. Google also remotely monitor apps that are installed on phones to prevent an app that is later flagged as a virus or one might have been downloaded from a third party source remaining on the end user's phone. This technique might seen invasive but think of it as someone doing the rounds on the apps you have installed rather than rifling through your personal details.
Safest way to download
There are many ways that users can prevent a virus or other types of malware making their way onto their phones. It takes just a little bit of vigilance which will save you a lot of headache. The easiest way is to download apps from the Play Store as opposed to other sources. This will dramatically reduce the chances of having malware on your phone as any app on the Play Store will have gone through Google's checks before being made available. After all, when you download an app you only see the file size and you unless you're a programmer, you don't even know what the app contains. You end up having to trust the source you downloaded the app from. There are literally thousands of apps on the Internet that you could potentially download that would fool you into thinking they are genuine when really, they are running background processes doing who knows what to your phone.
Permissions, permissions, permissions!
Always check the permissions of any app you download. This might seem a bit time consuming but it's definitely worth doing. Always think about the app you are about to download to see if you can justify why they need the permissions stated. Most developers avoid asking for permissions which aren't required by their app as it arouses suspicion. You should also be wary of an app that requires new permissions during an update. Developers usually justify the reason for new permissions but think about whether it's actually needed or not. If not, simply don't update the app and voice your concerns to the developer.
Play in my Sandbox?
Android has a sandboxing feature which basically separates each application so that it only acts within certain parameters, namely the permissions it has been granted by you. This means applications cannot interact with each other so if a malicious app tries to read your contacts, it will simply fail if it does not have the specific permission. This is a very handy feature to prevent any apps running rampant on your phone. This feature doesn't allow apps to completely corrupt the phone's memory either, like you might see with other operating systems. The memory for each app is sandboxed too so if an app attempts any such thing, it will just end up crashing itself and nothing else, very handy if you end up in that situation. This safety feature drastically limits the damage a rouge app can do but doesn't eradicate the problem completely as the app can still carry out tasks within its given permissions which is why it is vital to check the permissions an app is asking for before installing.
Still not convinced?
If you're still worried about malware then obviously I can't stop you downloading a virus scanner but just bear in mind the safety features and failsafes built into Android and the common sense that you, as a user, can apply when downloading apps. Then make sure you free yourself from battery draining virus scanners!
Mo
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