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Does android devices need an antivirus?

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omnia1994 said:
As topic =)
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I will not say no, but I haven't seen or had a real life demonstration where an Android AV software stopped or prevented anything on any device (Xoom included).
I personally don't have one loaded on any of my Android devices but I would say this. For phones / tables I prefer firewall software than AV.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

I would have to say yes. I recently attended a corporate day at Symantec and one of the things they demonstrated to us was how an Android phone becomes infected. The using a laptop they were able to extract personal info and sent txt messages and make calls.
So for me having seen that I would say yes especially if you side load apps using alternative markets.

Funny thing about that...
The sandboxing of the Java processes means that there's no escalation of privilege possible.
There are no viruses on Android in the sense that arbitrary code can be run, or infect the bytecode of other apps.
However, there are malicious apps which can be spotted by their permissions.
Don't use alternative markets. Pay attention to what you install, read permissions, read about the developers. Turn off unknown sources when not installing something from a trusted source. Those are the best security practices.
The "antivirus" apps for Android add very little real security on top of this, but they do slow down your device to make you feel safer.
stiflingcobra said:
I would have to say yes. I recently attended a corporate day at Symantec and one of the things they demonstrated to us was how an Android phone becomes infected. The using a laptop they were able to extract personal info and sent txt messages and make calls.
So for me having seen that I would say yes especially if you side load apps using alternative markets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Your correct about the permissions. The demo we had was an app that had had extra code added and was uploaded onto the market. The demo then showed both apps with the same icons etc but the permissions on the rogue app were nearly 3 times what the legit app required.
The game still ran when you installed it but in the background it was running other daemons giving the hacker the control. One of the big give aways was the ability to send txt messages. No game should need this.
So yes you do have to be vigilant but extra protection is always better if you don't mind having Antivirus software installed...

In my experience all that is really needed is a well configured firewall, pay attention to permission list before the app installation and to obviously avoid unofficial app markets.
The next thing to consider is what web browser you use. There are tons of options out there to choose and not all of them, actually most, don't offer modern features like anti-fishing and popup denial protection.
The best practice will always be prevention, and some android av programs do better than most.
If you are so inclined to have one, my recommendation would be for eset mobile security. I use their av on all my windows machines and haven't had a major issue at all.
Sent from my XT910-Rogers using XDA Premium.

As long as your brain works when reading the permissions (i.e. "why does a wallpaper need to send SMSs?"), then no, an AV isn't necessary.
Unfortunately, a lot of android users don't see to do this, hence hte mass media panic about android viruses.

stiflingcobra said:
Your correct about the permissions. The demo we had was an app that had had extra code added and was uploaded onto the market. The demo then showed both apps with the same icons etc but the permissions on the rogue app were nearly 3 times what the legit app required.
The game still ran when you installed it but in the background it was running other daemons giving the hacker the control. One of the big give aways was the ability to send txt messages. No game should need this.
So yes you do have to be vigilant but extra protection is always better if you don't mind having Antivirus software installed...
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That's why I recommended a firewall over an AV software, when I comes to Android at least it makes more sense to me to protect the flow of information then to waist CPU cycles on scanning for viruses.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

megabiteg said:
That's why I recommended a firewall over an AV software, when I comes to Android at least it makes more sense to me to protect the flow of information then to waist CPU cycles on scanning for viruses.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Good point. I recently un-installed my anti-virus (was using Avast) because it was really slowing down app installation and updating.

omnia1994 said:
As topic =)
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Yes android devices need antivirus because when you download apps or games from unknown parties aka third parties they mostly have virus or spyware so we need a antivirus which can scan files while downloading and if they have virus or spyware it would stop them if u ask me which av i m using i would recommend Appriva could antivirus reasons its available on play store and its free doesn't use much memory fast and reliable

popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/computer-security/you-should-put-antivirus-software-on-your-phone-14886208
Wysyłane z mojego Xoom za pomocą Tapatalk 2

Securing my phone, so many choices

I recently bought Android phone HTC ONE V and i am suprised how business work around Anroid OS + apps. I see some major problems :
1) Is there any trusted authority which inform users that application is 'safe' ? (see article : android-malware-spreads-via-website-injection-campaigns) Malware apps are even on Google Play market. I suppose that solution for this problem is to download just from e.g. TOP 10 apps from each category and just *hope* and *believe* that there is no malware contained just because these apps are soo much popular.
2) How to control permissions/app starts/firewall is there any good app for that ? I have unrooted phone. (I cant have Cyanogenmod 7/9 installed on my HTC One V because it was not ported yet) What would you recommend to me ? I see a lot of recommendations for "LBE Privacy Guard" app but then i found thread here on xda forum that this application is maybe suspicious/dangerous etc... I just want to have full control over my phone, why is that choice so difficult ?
List of apps, often recommened by 'The Internet', are these ok or not ? :
Wifi Protector
Droidwall
WhisperCore
WhisperMonitor
SSH Tunnel
Titanium Backup
ROM Manager
Tasker
Perfect App Protector Pro
This exactly describes my situation, many choices -> i expect to get the best from the Android :
The opportunity costs associated with a decision and the time and effort that go into making it are "fixed costs" that we "pay" up front, and those costs then get "amortized" over the life of the decision. The more we invest in a decision, the more satisfaction we expect to realize from our investment. If the decision provides substantial satisfaction for a long time after it is made, the costs of making it recede into insignificance. But if the decision provides pleasure for only a short time, those costs loom large. Spending four months deciding what stereo to buy is not so bad if you really enjoy that stereo for 15 years. But if you are excited by it for six months and then adapt, you may feel like a fool for having put in all that effort.
Dont you feel the same about these Android 'choices' sometimes ?

Tell Me What Kind Of Apps You Are Looking For And I'll Give you Some Recommendations

From the list of apps you have provided I can see that all of them are trusted and reliable.. so go ahead..

1. Well google aded some security in market so before they upload app they check if it is malware-free. But for more security you can download antivirus
(I RECOMMEND AVAST!)
2. For managing apps permisions im using LBE Privacy Guard is the top app for permisions and firewall managment.
Titanium Backup, Tasker-- awesome apps 100% excelent!
Have a nice day

+1 for avast! excellent at keeping viruses out, keeping data secure, doesn't slow the phone down and has an awesome anti-theft feature which if you're rooted is even better!

Did anyones avast actually find anything that is not a false positive?
Just wondering if this is really necessary...

My avast detected the one click root and androot files on my sd card as malware, which I mean they could be lol but the process of identifying them as false positives was a pain. Other than that... Avast is amazing.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA

onebornoflight said:
My avast detected the one click root and androot files on my sd card as malware, which I mean they could be lol but the process of identifying them as false positives was a pain. Other than that... Avast is amazing.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, sometimes it does its an antivirus so... he thinks that third-party apps are suspicious, but there is nothing to worry about when it comes to root.

antivirus is no good for performance

Antivirus overrated
Antivirus is and will never be any good for performance. You have to decide what risk you are willing to take. With good common sense, you can filter out the obvious threats. Review apps permissions and (try to) install only apps you and the community trust. If you don't trust it, ask around in this forum
Also - obviously - don't visit suspicious sites, click on links in emails and never download programs you don't know.
Personally, i do not use virus protection. I do use DroidWall and LBE Privacy guard for a few apps, but more for data and performance issues.
But i also regularly whipe my phone to install new ROM's and let my (trusted) apps freshly reinstall and restore only game user data.

rilorolo said:
Antivirus is and will never be any good for performance. You have to decide what risk you are willing to take. With good common sense, you can filter out the obvious threats. Review apps permissions and (try to) install only apps you and the community trust. If you don't trust it, ask around in this forum
Also - obviously - don't visit suspicious sites, click on links in emails and never download programs you don't know.
Personally, i do not use virus protection. I do use DroidWall and LBE Privacy guard for a few apps, but more for data and performance issues.
But i also regularly whipe my phone to install new ROM's and let my (trusted) apps freshly reinstall and restore only game user data.
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Click to collapse
+1 here. I think that there is no need to use an Antivirus. Just have a look on the permissions when installing an app and you will be OK.

Question about android security

So i am just wondering, there are so much different apps for android on the market, and most of them has a lot of access to phone's functions. Now for example i am always logged in to Gmail, and theoretically can a random app scan and copy my gmail's data and send it trough internet? Really curious..

Kblavkalash said:
Now for example i am always logged in to Gmail, and theoretically can a random app scan and copy my gmail's data and send it trough internet? Really curious..
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Click to collapse
This question is not really an issue of Android security this is a question about general security. Can an app look at your gmail app directly and copy data and send it out...not exactly no, an app can't forcibly connect itself to another app to scan data.
However...
That question is actually not relevant because such a task is unnecessary for malicious apps. Lets say you install a malicious app that wants to copy your gmail data. What it will do is not watch the app itself but it will watch the network packets being sent to and from the app, logging and tracking those.
This is not the only way to get the data though because any data saved on your sdcard is accessible from an app if you give it permission to do so.
The MOST important thing to look at when installing an app is the permissions the app is requesting when it installs. This can be confusing as well because some apps will request full internet access because they need it but this can also be used by a malicious app to steal your data.
The important thing to do is research. The more you learn about the app the better off you are.
-------
Just to clarify, this applies to all apps of any kind on any platform including but not limited to Android, iPhones, Blackberry, Windows Phone, WebOS, Windows PC, Mac OSX, Linux or etc. - ALWAYS learn as much as you can and are comfortable with before installing anything...if you are not comfortable with a particular app or learning more about it then don't install it. That is not to say it may be malicous, it is just to say it could be a bad idea for other reasons. (for example, if it is a developer tool or a configuration tool that you don't understand or haven't researched enough to understand...then you could potentially damage your device with something that is a legitimate tool)

Kblavkalash said:
So i am just wondering, there are so much different apps for android on the market, and most of them has a lot of access to phone's functions. Now for example i am always logged in to Gmail, and theoretically can a random app scan and copy my gmail's data and send it trough internet? Really curious..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edit

MichaelTunnell said:
This question is not really an issue of Android security this is a question about general security. Can an app look at your gmail app directly and copy data and send it out...not exactly no, an app can't forcibly connect itself to another app to scan data.
However...
That question is actually not relevant because such a task is unnecessary for malicious apps. Lets say you install a malicious app that wants to copy your gmail data. What it will do is not watch the app itself but it will watch the network packets being sent to and from the app, logging and tracking those.
This is not the only way to get the data though because any data saved on your sdcard is accessible from an app if you give it permission to do so.
The MOST important thing to look at when installing an app is the permissions the app is requesting when it installs. This can be confusing as well because some apps will request full internet access because they need it but this can also be used by a malicious app to steal your data.
The important thing to do is research. The more you learn about the app the better off you are.
-------
Just to clarify, this applies to all apps of any kind on any platform including but not limited to Android, iPhones, Blackberry, Windows Phone, WebOS, Windows PC, Mac OSX, Linux or etc. - ALWAYS learn as much as you can and are comfortable with before installing anything...if you are not comfortable with a particular app or learning more about it then don't install it. That is not to say it may be malicous, it is just to say it could be a bad idea for other reasons. (for example, if it is a developer tool or a configuration tool that you don't understand or haven't researched enough to understand...then you could potentially damage your device with something that is a legitimate tool)
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Click to collapse
Good answer, you are right!, but you say do a research before installing, but it's not really possible unless you are a programmer and checking whole code The best rated apps still have many different permission requirement and i have no idea what they are doing.
For example app can request a new password change for example on paypal and steal packets which come to my gmail about new password.^^

Security Apps
Hi,
in my eyes the best way is to use programs like PDroid. You cann adjist the rights of every App regarding send SMS for example.
LBE Privacy Guard may be also an Option. (runs not on my Device - SGS+)
(i use Pdroid 2.0)
you should also read the comments in the store, and the needed rights from the app before install. The best Apps to trust are open source apps.

Kblavkalash said:
Good answer, you are right!, but you say do a research before installing, but it's not really possible unless you are a programmer and checking whole code The best rated apps still have many different permission requirement and i have no idea what they are doing.
For example app can request a new password change for example on paypal and steal packets which come to my gmail about new password.^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Research generally involves a Google search...
Editor's Choice in the market are safe bets, you know, the blue icon.
But then there are the millions of other apps, and frankly, I tend to toe the app name plus xda for instance, Google will show you xda threads about the app, if the posts are normal, you can be sure it's not malicious.
Stuff like that...
Also, fake market comments are really easy to spot and are a dead giveaway
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

[Discussion] Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.

Hey guys it's quite confusing for me. That do we really need an antivirus on android?
Please submit ur reviews.
If yes,why and which app you suggest.
If no..plese let us know why?
Devs and seniors are mostly welcome and requested.

XDguru said:
Hey guys it's quite confusing for me. That do we really need an antivirus on android?
Please submit ur reviews.
If yes,why and which app you suggest.
If no..plese let us know why?
Devs and seniors are mostly welcome and requested..as ur the ones we trust on XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used or needed one. As long as your careful then your fine.

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
XDguru said:
Hey guys it's quite confusing for me. That do we really need an antivirus on android?
Please submit ur reviews.
If yes,why and which app you suggest.
If no..plese let us know why?
Devs and seniors are mostly welcome and requested..as ur the ones we trust on XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just don't download garbage blindly and u should be fine
Sent from my SGH-I777 running AOKP

XDguru said:
Hey guys it's quite confusing for me. That do we really need an antivirus on android?
Please submit ur reviews.
If yes,why and which app you suggest.
If no..plese let us know why?
Devs and seniors are mostly welcome and requested..as ur the ones we trust on XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see it as necessary, but I do use avast! Free Mobile Security for it's anti-theft part. There are other apps that offer the same.
A german security company ran a test of some anti-virus apps, There were 172 possible hits and 10 real time hits and the results were depressing:
Antivirus Free fra Creative Apps – 0/172, 0/10
GuardX Antivirus fra QStar – 0/172, 0/10
LabMSF Antivirus beta fra LabMSF – 0/172, 0/10
Privateer Lite fra Privateer Labs – 0/172, 1/10
Bluepoint antivirus Free fra BluePoint Security – 2/172, 1/10
Kinetoo Malware Scan av CPU Media SARL – 11/172, 1/10
Zoner AntiVirus Free av ZONER – 55/172, 8/10
Mind you this was a while back and Avast, AVG and other of the larger ones was not included.

never need it , beside it drains battery

In my experience antivirus apps are just here to scare windows users into giving a company more money.
Sure some of them to have nice anti theft features however there are also plenty of very good (free) apps that do this like prey.
Just do not download random apk's from the internet and blindly install them and you will be fine

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
Waste of money.... When i got my first device i spent 5€ for antivarious... After some days i found out that the only thing it was doing, was to blockmy carrier`s messagges.. Nothing else
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda app-developers app

Antdroid antivirus programs are mostly used for
1)Anti-Theft uses
2)To know any issues with settings in the phone (Faulty or unchecked settings)
3)To know which apps are using network, wifi, GPS etc through privacy advisers
4)Will block malicious websites that are suspicious.
5)Provides call/sms blockers.
6)I have seen some virus attacks for few of my friends on their android mobiles even though they had an antivirus app on them. So I don't know why it happened.
So instead of backing off from single drawback use it for several other uses it provides! (My choice Avast! For Rooted phones, it will work best)

i think it just drain battery faster and use a lot of ram..

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
Used to stick with avast before. ( but it makes the device hell lotta Laggy when any app is installed trying to scan the crap out of it for no good ).
But it's useful with the firewall feature.
As long as its from playstore, you won't need any anti viruses .
In 4.2 i see that Google has included something that they call "verify apps" and that's supposed to check if the app is harmful or not.
And again, download stuff from trusted websites only.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LIFE!
IT'S WHAT YOU MAKE OUT OF IT!

I agree with the other posts,
You really don't need an antivirus as long as you are careful about what you download.
I was using Aavast, but it made my Tab 2 laggy and slow so I uninstalled it.

Security Suites like LBE Security would be usefull for control permissions, start up, block ads and firewall; but the best antivirus is intelligence and caution

To be honest with you, you just need to be carefull and don't install things from sources you don't trust. Having that said, I still use Avast! Mobile Security because it has an anti-theft feature which I highly appreciate.

Not necessary, just don't go around installing sketchy apps.

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
The worst thing I have experienced in many years is airpush which is essentially no worse than spam ads and is remedied by simply uninstalling the culprit app.. Be aware and you should not need antivirus apps.
Sent from my Sourcerized GNex Toroplus via Tapatalk

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
Using avast for anti thefts..n got a solution,instead of uninstalling it I just froze it via greenify..n it solved the issue.only the anti theft is working in background and its using quite little memory which is ok for me as per my phones physical security is concern,but the antivirus app that was using a huge memory is frozen..
Hope this idea helps any one who is in confusion to hav or not an antivirus.
Thanx all for your valuable advice and suggests.
Sent from my MT11i using xda app

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
I use lookout security.. according to this Washington post article over 80% of all mobile malware is written for android. Something everyone here should keep in mind
http://m.washingtonpost.com/busines...226316-874b-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

As long as you know what you're installing, checking the permissions, not installing non-Market apps too often, and no installing unknown apps over the internet, you should be fine without antivirus.

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
Don't auto download attachments from your email either.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

Re: Do we really need an antivirus app on android? Attention required.
I never need it.
Sent from my LG-SU640 using xda premium

Good antivirus for rooted phones?

Hey does anyone know of a good antivirus app for a rooted zenfone 2e? I want one that is free but has as many features as possible as well. Thanks.

I used to use Avast but the best anti virus is you, the user. Know your system, know the internet. If youre rooting, you will/should eventually get very familiar with android, how it behaves, the file system, permissions, built-in apps, etc. Avoid indiscriminate app downloads, especially from places other than the play store, and never follow links that youre unsure of. My opinion is that Windows is the only OS that AV is pretty much necessary.

I second avast. An interesting feature is that it will survive a factory reset if stolen.

zshep99 said:
Hey does anyone know of a good antivirus app for a rooted zenfone 2e? I want one that is free but has as many features as possible as well. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlike the PC, it is extremely unlikely you will "get" a virus on your android. It is you who has to install the malware to make it happen. And it is extremely easy to remove the malware. A factory reset would do it and as root user you could simply restore your nandroid backup.
tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo

Most antivirus apps come with a huge amount of crap no one needs. They often drain your battery and slow your smartphone down. I have also seen antivirus apps which behave more like spyware by replacing advertisements in other apps or direct you to untrustworthy websites when opening the webbrowser.
My opinion: You do not need an antivirus app on your smartphone. Make sure you install most apps via appstore. Take care with apps from 3rd party websites. (Especially if the website says you have an virus on your smartphone => scareware!)

I would never install Antivir-Apps, since they will drop your phone-performance. And what do you get for this? Nothing. Just be carefully of what you are downloading.

i thinks for android no needs one antivirus..

Kenfary72 said:
i thinks for android no needs one antivirus..
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+ one
Envoyé de mon E5333 en utilisant Tapatalk

Kenfary72 said:
i thinks for android no needs one antivirus..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ two

My opinion is that android doesn't need antivirus software when the user is careful about what he downloads.

no disregard to anyone, but are you sure you are in developers forum ?!?! this is not a google store !
do you still live in Symbian world ? even the google play itself has malwares ! or you just want to ignore it ? beside those, hangroid can be easily hacked. the only system that dose not a antivirus is winphone, and it has not need it yet ! but they will come for it very soon.
personally i will never trust ios o even open my email, and in android i have an original payed antivirus that really can respond to a virus. i have original nod32 (i do NOT like it, but i didn't get a better one in hangroid.)
visited by lenovo tab2 a8.
best regards, josef.

josef2600 said:
no disregard to anyone, but are you sure you are in developers forum ?!?! this is not a google store !
do you still live in Symbian world ? even the google play itself has malwares ! or you just want to ignore it ? beside those, hangroid can be easily hacked. the only system that dose not a antivirus is winphone, and it has not need it yet ! but they will come for it very soon.
personally i will never trust ios o even open my email, and in android i have an original payed antivirus that really can respond to a virus. i have original nod32 (i do NOT like it, but i didn't get a better one in hangroid.)
visited by lenovo tab2 a8.
best regards, josef.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best antivirus is still brain.apk
Just do not instal every bulls* and you are good to go.
Most antivirus apps are snakeoil/bloatware which will not protect you from anything!

It is good to think about an anti-virus. Android malwares exist, so everyone who's telling here that AVs for Android are a no-go are jumping the gun. However, the Android system already has some security measures into place. So is it still worth it? Yes. The Play Store can't guarantee a 100% clean virus free app collection. History has shown that. "use your brain" is also not a really constructive argument, it is easy to install a sample or virus infected application. Is it that dumb to use an AV on Android? No.
My suggestion, *buy* an AV. For example I have a yearly subscription to Freedome from F-Secure (VPN service). Primarly for my laptop but you can install it on three devices (I have it on 2 laptops and my smartphone). For the smartphone, besides a VPN the app will also scan the device for malicious apps so I got all my important security features in one app. I know that Avast has something similar. I paid 50 euros for one year, which is next to nothing considering the features and piece of mind. And for all those that go on ranting on my post here, I am a security professional in Android and see malware samples from the inside (reverse engineer) all the time
I encourage you to look in those options: VPN and App scan.

tetakpatak said:
Unlike the PC, it is extremely unlikely you will "get" a virus on your android. It is you who has to install the malware to make it happen. And it is extremely easy to remove the malware. A factory reset would do it and as root user you could simply restore your nandroid backup.
tetakpatalked from Nexus 7 flo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember stagefight thingy ? One could have abused it to gain root privileges and install a binary that run at start, a raw binary, not a package.
Tell me how it is easy to uninstall it, you would first have to track it, if it's purpose wasn't to patch other binaries, and then, you're good to reflash system partition.
No system is invulnerable
Of course, it's tough to get a virus on android, but there's still common malware, adware, scareware, and raw security flaws. There is still need for security solutions, mostly for the raw flaws.

Best choice for you from my point of view
CM Security & Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

I agree with Magissia if you think over that what you are going to do.

Virustotal AND vulnerability patches