Report: Android Has Become the Ultimate Malware Platform

[kawininjazx]

Linux is open but doesn't get infections because it is not as popular as windows. OSX is essentially in that boat. Android is open but is extremely popular, thus all the malware.

 

[classzero]

[citation][nom]antilycus[/nom]$ 35/month unlimited data, voice, text for Android/iPhone (Virgin mobile, contractless phone using sprint's network)$100ish a month for limited data, unlimited voice and text for a 2yr contract $65 /month saved x 12 months (1 year) = $780 more in my pocket a year than contract Android/iPhone users....I like to troll.[/citation]

Let me fix that for you!

 

[teh_chem]

How strange indeed--the most popular mobile phone OS also shows a trend of increased malware presence. Astonishing.

Anyhoo, yet another reminder for responsible and informed-use. Such "problems" will never go away.

 

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]sundragon[/nom]Android lovers: Thou dost protest too much!AVG isn't making up the numbers, it's a negative consequence that comes from the freedom of having an open system. Google needs to police their store better.Making PEBKAC jokes makes you sound like a tool with iDevice envy. Users aren't going to transform into 14 year old IT geeks - Remember most of the population isn't Tech savy and they don't know better.The Android Store needs to be more secure - which is ultimately Google's responsibility. Otherwise, it's gonna turn everyone's Android phone into a Windows machine that requires AV software and anti-Malware just to make phone call...The more stuff like this happens the less likely lay people are going to invest in Android platforms for fear of getting a virus. Not acceptable.[/citation]If you took the time to read the study from AVG you would have noticed that this malware increase isn't related to Google Play, but from a third party stores and standalone apks.

 

[rantoc]

[citation][nom]aracheb[/nom]is gruener, so everything that is bad and is android is the ultimate malicious evil. if is bad and is apple, is just a necessary evil.This guy should get fired for giving one side history all the time..[/citation]

So does a few other writers on this site, neutral news please! Not biased fanboiz news!

 

[Guest]

It is an open platform, and will always be more vulnerable to malware than a closed system. Everyone knows that going in. But for some the extra risk is worth it. Others who don't know a byte from a bite, should look to a closed system. Easy enough. IOS, and android do what they were designed to do.

 

[g-thor]

@sundragon

Here's a quote from the AVG report, that the author could have cited, had he been a little less Android averse:

The malware writer infects the legitimate application which then spreads on third party app stores around the world (not on the official Google Play shop).

Of course, you could have done a quick Google search and read the actual report yourself. You may want to re-evaluate your "Google needs to police their store better" statement. It is found wanting.

I also must say that your arguments sounds like iPhones owners are tech challenged "lay people" who rely on Apple for their security. Do you mean that no 14 year old IT geek would have an iPhone? The Genius Bar ads seem to indicate that iOwners can't figure things out (although I believe the intent was to demonstrate the excellent support that Apple provides, just badly written). You also imply that Android is difficult to figure out - maybe like DOS was - all those esoteric commands.

Actually, it is pretty intuitive. On all of my Androids, I had to go in and change the setting to allow outside apps, if that's what I wanted. It's locked by default. If you know enough to go in and alter that, you should know enough to understand the risks.

Please note that, as Wolfgang states in his last line, AVG showed NO numbers, NO averages, NO ratios. The article simply states that as the number of Android devices grows, so does the threat. The biggest threat is those who want to get programs for "free", commonly called "pirated". That's what the criminals use to draw in the ignorant - it's free up front, but has a terrible price after.

 

[house70]

[citation][nom]sundragon[/nom]Android lovers: Thou dost protest too much!AVG isn't making up the numbers, it's a negative consequence that comes from the freedom of having an open system. Google needs to police their store better.Making PEBKAC jokes makes you sound like a tool with iDevice envy. Users aren't going to transform into 14 year old IT geeks - Remember most of the population isn't Tech savy and they don't know better.The Android Store needs to be more secure - which is ultimately Google's responsibility. Otherwise, it's gonna turn everyone's Android phone into a Windows machine that requires AV software and anti-Malware just to make phone call...The more stuff like this happens the less likely lay people are going to invest in Android platforms for fear of getting a virus. Not acceptable.[/citation]
I should answer with a "thou dost think too little", but I am not going to do that.
Instead, I will assume (erroneously, perhaps) that you can use a bit of logic when reading my post. If that is too much, then let me sum it up for you:
If you are not sure you know what you're doing, leave the default settings in place and you will be fine!
Stop installing dubious apps from dubious sources and you will be fine!

Geez, I hope it was worth the effort....

 

[benji720]

[citation][nom]pjmelect[/nom]Unfortunately I see this all the time, although Windows 7 is much less likely to get a virus infection than Windows XP Windows 7 still gets infections particularly with naive users.[/citation]

Yeah, we get some bad Win7 infections we have to remove, although it's nothing like 32bit XP viruses were. Usually a Combofix and a Malwarebytes scan take care of em.

 

[okibrian]

But, but, but Android is the best, right? I mean everyone says it's the best so it must be true. And Apple is the bad man too, right? This is where I take a second to say, hahahahahaha. 😀

 

[livebriand]

Use common sense, and it's not an issue. On a side note, I'm on a monthly t-mobile prepaid plan, and I don't maintain any account balance. (I put in EXACTLY $30 after the billing cycle has ended, so there's never any balance on it. I manually pay each month.) If my phone were infected with malware that texts paid SMS numbers, what would happen?

 

[olaf]

Yet another sensationalist title from Tom's sponsored by Crapple.

 

[motheninja]

[citation][nom]antilycus[/nom]$ 35/month unlimited data, voice, text for android (boost mobile, contractless phone using sprint's network)$100ish a month for limited data, unlimited voice and text for Apple $65 /month saved x 12 months (1 year) = $780 more in my pocket a year than iPhone users....I deal with the malware if I ever actually get any.[/citation]
[citation][nom]antilycus[/nom]$ 35/month unlimited data, voice, text for android (boost mobile, contractless phone using sprint's network)$100ish a month for limited data, unlimited voice and text for Apple $65 /month saved x 12 months (1 year) = $780 more in my pocket a year than iPhone users....I deal with the malware if I ever actually get any.[/citation]


Iam calling bullshit on that. The cheapest plan on sprint is $40 with unlimited data. Any 4g phones get tacked on another $10 surcharge. That means around $50 before taxes.... The iPhone is available with a SERO plan which is unlimited calling to any cellphone and 1600 minutes for landlines, unlimited texting and data for $60 and a $10 surcharge even though it's not 4g making it $70 a month. So you save $20 a month by using a shitty android phone, good job!

 

[ejb222]

[citation][nom]pjmelect[/nom]Unfortunately I see this all the time, although Windows 7 is much less likely to get a virus infection than Windows XP Windows 7 still gets infections particularly with naive users.[/citation]
NOT Windows 7...Windows PHONE 7 and 7.5. No Maleware. Show me when Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 were victims like Android is.

 

[ejb222]

[citation][nom]benji720[/nom]Yeah, we get some bad Win7 infections we have to remove, although it's nothing like 32bit XP viruses were. Usually a Combofix and a Malwarebytes scan take care of em.[/citation]
He made this comment misguidedly. He was originally responding to a commnet about Windows Phone. But he thought of Windows for PC.

 

[skyline100]

[citation][nom]Schnitter[/nom]This is expected of a rapidly growing platform that is 100% open.[/citation]

100%? Seriously?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/report-open-source-android-mobile-platform-not-very-open-at-all/54085

 

[olaf]

[citation][nom]olaf[/nom]Yet another sensationalist title from Tom's sponsored by Crapple.[/citation]

go go sheep vote-down 😀 its just -3 😀

 

[eddieroolz]

Well, I thought this was an obvious fact. What's even more disturbing is that Google doesn't seem interested in stemming this trend, either.

 

[tobalaz]

[citation][nom]ejb222[/nom]He made this comment misguidedly. He was originally responding to a commnet about Windows Phone. But he thought of Windows for PC.[/citation]
More than the 10 current users for that phone would have to exist for it to be profitable for hackers to target the Windows 7/ 7.5 mobile platforms.
Same reason you don't see viruses for Blackberry OS, too small a market.
Same reason you never saw viruses for Macs or Linux desktops, too small of markets.
Android and iOS are the 2 biggest mobile platforms and pretty close to an even market split, so logic dictates those would have the highest probability of being targeted.

I can't say the majority of smartphone users are stupid (someone would release the hounds, lol), so let's use the term uneducated.
These uneducated users are so used to classic mobile phones, and still think of their smartphones as JUST phones, so they are really unaware that jamming an internet connected pc into a phone subjects their phone to the same hazards as their home pcs. Viruses and malware were never a problem before with their mobile phones, so why would they think of them as something to guard against now?
It's been said countless times throughout the ages, ignorance is bliss. You have no idea how true that is.
Another factor is that when people go to pay their phone bills, they're either lazy and just accept the final number without bothering to read the through their bill or simply don't understand how to read a phone bill so they just pay the number at the end.
Even if you're smart and know what to look for, kids can mess it all up for you (I've got a cousin that sneaks off with people's phones every chance he gets and my uncle has been billed for ringtones, sex phone line calls and porn photo daily emails and sports feeds). Kids don't know or care, most don't have the faintest concept of how money really works in life and as long as they're getting what they want and its not infringing on what they're getting mommy or daddy getting slammed for $100 in miscellaneous charges doesn't bother them one bit.

I personally have an Android phone. No one touches it but me, I understand things like viruses and malware and I believe in the old adage if its too good to be true, it probably is, so I don't go after non-market apps promising free stuff and no problems to this point.
All it takes is understanding your phone and a little common sense.