I've got two questions...
1- Is it convenient to use an antivirus program for my phone??
2- (Maybe this is a stupid question...) If I download an .APK file to my computer to copy it to my SD... Can it infect with some kind of virus my computer?? Even if I don't open it.
Many thanks
The only place i would trust enough to download an apk from is XDA. Anywhere else, it's a risk. Not so much that your PC will become infected but you may end up with malware on your phone.
I wouldn't bother with an antivirus app on your phone, but instead use some common sense about where you source your apps and how you use your phone in general. Prevention is better than cure!
1) No. It's highly unlikely that you'll get a virus on Android. The risk is slightly greater if you pirate apps, but that's what you deserve for stealing from developers. Antivirus programs are ineffective, use a lot of resources, and typically either spam you with ads, want you to pay a subscription, and/or send your personal information back to China. I don't trust them.
2) No. Viruses will only harm the OS that they were made for. A virus made for Windows cannot harm your Android phone, and a virus made for Android cannot harm your computer.
Don't pirate apps or download apps from shady places, and don't download an app from the Market with a small number of downloads and reviews and you'll be fine.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
quite true. Antivirus on mobile phone is just a wasting of ram.
Related
Do I need a virus checker and firewall on my XDA and, if so, which ones are the best?
i use airscanner firewall and pc-cillin
they are both free
if it's needed well suppose that would depen on how much risk you are in as in downloading alot of files and running files you get in mails
I switched to linux on all my computers to "avoid" viruses and have peace of mind. With my complete rom backups, do I need to have another memory hogging app (anti-virus) running in the background of my phone and tablet? I'm just really curious why it would be needed...
There are quite a few Anti Virus apps available, but I haven't heard of any Viruses!
Once there is confirmed news of a Virus attack on Android, I will install an app
No, anti-virus in not needed on Android. It is Linux-based and keeps apps running in their own sandbox. Just be careful about what apps you give superuser permissions (if you have your device rooted).
One possible area of concern may be when you do hook up your device with a Windows PC over USB, your SD card may get infected and in turn infect other PCs. But Windows viruses have no influence on your Android system itself.
You don't need an anti-virus application on Android. There are no viruses for Android (as of yet) that will infect your system without you explicitly giving it permission to do so. If you do not have a rooted device, the potential damage that can be caused by a malicious application is quite limited (but it could still run your phone bill up, for example). There have been some web scripts in the past that allowed access to your phone's SD card, but these security holes have been fixed in the latest builds of Android.
The best course of action is to be smart about what you install. Always look at the permissions that an application requests before you install it. There are also several permission managers available on the market. These applications require root access, and will block other applications in the system from being able to request certain intents (i.e. starting the camera, or phone)
workdowg said:
I switched to linux on all my computers to "avoid" viruses and have peace of mind. With my complete rom backups, do I need to have another memory hogging app (anti-virus) running in the background of my phone and tablet? I'm just really curious why it would be needed...
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That topic comes up a lot, and is hotly debated. Here's one article that discusses the issue, and gives some advice:
Avoiding Malicious Apps
I have installed one..but never found a virus...so I think we don`t need it
definitely not needed.
yeah there is definitely no need for anti-virus.
but be cautious of some apps that install apps ads in your notification bar. it gets annoying.
Thanks all! I was certain that was going to be the consensus. In my "windows years", about 20, I never got anything more than some adware. Just need to be observant and wary. Some things that are "free" cost more in the end.
I've noticed on several occasions that download sites recommended by a small percentage of folks here are literally "crawling with viral fecal matter disguised by the download file in most sinister fashions, the most popular is to catch a user who is not paying close and I mean very close attention to what is happening not only when you install the program but also when you un-install it. Case in point[still cleaning up from it]: Yesterday my partner used my laptop to get Odin for a rooting project. I found what I thought was the latest version, said to be the latest from this site:
odindownload.com/downloads/Odin-V3.10.6.exe
This file installs nearly a dozen bogus files on your computer and never installs Odin. I have included a partial list of the companies participating in this bit of ugliness below:
Guardian
Vuuc
Doctor PC
Cinema Plus
trovi.com
AND the EVER notorious PC CLEANER!!! These programs resist the uninstall, hide files in the prefetch folder and in the local appdata folder to reinstall themselves. I hope this FYI helps you avoid an hours long cleanup. My antivirus software caught 20 win32 viruses in the space of an hour while we were trying to install the Odin software. Be advised!!!!
thanks buddy.
Sent from my SM-N7507
---------- Post added at 03:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:29 PM ----------
btw sent to fcebook
Sent from my SM-N7507
Once you've been infected there is no reliable way to fully remove everything even if your AV says your system is clean, they obviously hide some backdoors enabling it to come back later. I mean 20 infections, damn, consider that install toast. Wipe the disk and install fresh. Really have to be careful with what you're installing...
you might not be aware of windows software & network firewall called comodo, which probably would've caught a lot of these if you use it in 'paranoid' mode
basically it will ask you before something is allowed to happen with unknown/ unprofiled exe', once vetted you can put the exe into a class (for behaviour rules applicable to a group of apps), or define behaviour specific to the app in question- comodo would follow these rules automatically - not dissimilar to iptables for network apps
the rules are 'ask always', 'allow' and 'block', while you can remember any specific choices, or have them apply for this exe run only - the actions to which rules can apply are in my attached screenshots
when i run the file at that link, it catches it as unknown, then allows me to run it in an isolated 'sandbox' - doing so results in a crash of the app, which is never a good sign; if i remember next time i'm on my other machine i'll let it get a bit further on in a vm and see what methods it uses to attempt to persist itself
i pretty much dont use on-access virus scanners anymore, rather, i use comodo in paranoid mode - i still use standalone sophos and avg instances occasionally, that i run before i do a backup
Hi there, I just have a quick question, if anybody could help me with this I'd be ever so grateful!
I was given a laptop today by somebody on Portland's Craigslist he gave it to me out of the kindness of his heart, wanted nothing in return,and to me that's not very common so I'm shocked and I Hate that I am, but I'm a little weary of it as well. How can I tell if this wonderful person possibly put some kind of hidden program or files or whatever to spy on me in any way? Whether it be for creepy reasons, monetary gain, or just monitoring in general, where would I look for files, or programs that could be a threat? Is there anyway to actually have these programs running and i not know about it? How can I be sure that he has no ties, no connection, nothing to do with this laptop anymore? Even remotely.....?
I need to be sure that my kids are gonna be safe using this laptop, how can I tell if there is Any invasion to our privacy?
I appreciate Any and All help I can get, I do know a little bit about this stuff but not nearly enough to be comfortable using it,
Thank you in advance
Which operating system is installed? The easiest way to be sure is just to format the hard drive and reload Windows...if Windows 10 is installed you can reset it quite easily through settings but if it's older then you'll need a disk or the installation files. If there's any sort of spy software installed it probably won't be obvious or show up as a program anyways.
I recommend a clean install of Windows 10 too. If that's not possible install Malwarebytes and ESET NOD32 antivirus free trial. Update both and do a full deep scan using both programs.
If it has malware or antivirus software already installed, uninstall it and get fresh versions above software. He may have white listed any malware/spyware he installed so when it scans, it won't show up in the detected list.
Also, I recommend a good firewall too. Personally, the built in Windows firewall lacks, but I'm a control freak.
Hi, i'm very interested in privacy and security but I'm a complete noob when it comes to android and phones so hopefully i can learn something from this forum.
I currently own a samsung A51, unmodified. I'm unsure if i should root it.
I have recently read that samsung collects a lot of data and sells it to third parties, google and apple collects data just as well but they don't sell data to third parties. I'm worried about this.
My win10 machine has been hardened pretty well, it doesn't call home to microsoft in any way i know. Simply by setting the rules to "deny by default" unless something has specifically been whitelisted by, and blacklisting microsoft IP's.
Can this be done on a stock samsung phone as well? Is there any firewall app that can do this? Something like tinywall? Or IPtables in linux? to prevent any data connection from samsung?
Read my post, depending on who wants access to your phone, there isnt anything you can do. With permissions of most apps any by default most operating systems have backdoors within them, and with your advertising i.d u can be followed from website to website and tracked just by having wifi turned on. ..
E.g owning a samsung ssd, in their privacy statement they tell you they are gonna identify you from your ssd serial number and use it the same way the telemnttry u are blocking does, so unless u wanna block and change every device i.d u got...
Long story we all fuuuuucd
Windows OS has a hosts file, Linux OS has a host file, MacOS has an hosts file and Android OS has a hosts file, too. That's the place people use to block unwanted Internet connections.
jwoegerbauer said:
Windows OS has a hosts file, Linux OS has a host file, MacOS has an hosts file and Android OS has a hosts file, too. That's the place people use to block unwanted Internet connections.
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Click to collapse
Yeah i get that but that dont work with my issue as the access to my devices goes around the layer of the operating system