Anti-Virus or NO Anti-Virus

[nathanb7]

Quick question....

I have been running Lookout on my Dinc for awhile now. It scans all new apps for viruses and runs in the background all the time.

I was wondering how many of you guys actually use anything like this or if an Anti-virus is even needed at all?

 

[killadanny]

I keep in just in case. It is annoying when your trying to install apps and pops up a lot.

 

[Mastermind]

You won't find any AntiVirus software on my phone. Not necessary, in my opinion.

 

[cp1]

It's impossible to "get a virus", but it is possible to download an app that steals your info -- is this what the "anti-virus" looks for?

 

[Steven58]

A bit of advice to the wise. Don't use Anti-Virus. It messes up the OS. I had to do a factory reset on my DI after I installed it.

 

[nathanb7]

The Anti-Virus that i am speaking of is called "Lookout" i believe it is free from the marketplace and has three functions.... Anti-Virus, Data Backup, and Missing Device

It just runs in the background and in the notification bar always....and wasnt quite sure if it was necessary.

If there is no way to get viruses then i would say that its prob not necessary

 

[euph_22]

It's not impossible to get a virus, but it is VERY VERY VERY unlikely. There really are very few android viruses out there, and they really aren't widespread. Mostly it's just hackers flexing there muscles saying "LOOK WHAT I DID". They generally never try to distribute them. It is much more likely to cause you more harm than good.

It's a good idea to use lookout, or something similar, for the Missing Device features though.

 

[Azelis]

I think the only real damage a virus could do, unless it asked for superuser and you allowed it, was to eat up storage space and maybe database space. It can't replicate and propigate and infect like a traditional virus on a computer. I don't even think with superuser access it can modify most internal volumes because don't they boot as read-only?

 

[cp1]

Can't ROM Manager flash your phone? Then a malicious app could pretty completely brick your phone, but only if you're dumb enough to root and install random apps.

 

[xmonkey]

Can't ROM Manager flash your phone? Then a malicious app could pretty completely brick your phone, but only if you're dumb enough to root and install random apps.

It can only do this because you physically tell Superuser to allow it to, AFAIK. An app can't do something like that behind your back.

 

[adrynalyne]

No, a malicious app cannot.

Not within the OS. If you are allowing something to reboot to do something, beware.

NAND is locked; /system and /boot are protected while within the OS.

 

[stevil69]

The Titanic was unsinkable. Vista UAC was supposed to make your system saf, etc. The history of man and the history of computers is filled with claims of infallibility. While there may be no current threats, give the little hackers time, and some little turd will find a way. Now whether an anti virus will work is a while different question, but don't believe the hype that android is unhackable.

 

[Rippin508]

For now, no anti-virus.

However I do see in the future a need for anti-virus or security software for smartphones. As the ability to use your smartphone to pay for things becomes more common, I believe that some type of security will be needed.

 

[sabrewings]

but don't believe the hype that android is unhackable.

It's not that Android is unhackable, it's that linux is damn close. Permissions and superuser are where it's at. It's a completely different environment that programs run in than how something like Windows does it.

 

[upther]

I've got Lookout on my phone but the anti-virus portion is turned off. No need for that imo.

 

[juron99]

I downloaded a wallpaper and it caused my phone to act crazy; flickering fast and switching between pages, etc. I was finally able to get on the internet by force and downloaded an antivirus program. It scanned and found a virus in the wallpaper. Removed it and am using Lookout now.

 

[sabrewings]

I have Lookout and just let it do it's thing. While I have faith in the system, hindsight is always 20/20. I also like the recovery option.

 

[adrynalyne]

The Titanic was unsinkable. Vista UAC was supposed to make your system saf, etc. The history of man and the history of computers is filled with claims of infallibility. While there may be no current threats, give the little hackers time, and some little turd will find a way. Now whether an anti virus will work is a while different question, but don't believe the hype that android is unhackable.

Hardware protection preventing writing to key parts of the system, which CANNOT be circumvented during running of the OS is not hype, its reality. Thats before an attempt even gets to Android itself.

 

[yojoe600]

mines turned off there is no need to the anti-virus part

 

[FierceDeityLink1]

Never needed an anti-virus on a PDA or smartphone before. Maybe if there's some random outbreak, but then it'll probably be a 0-day exploit that no one knows about.

Just be careful with what you install...

 

[vzwuser76]

The way I look at it is this. It's the first phone that would cost more than $200 unsubsidized that I have purchased. I had Lookout on it at the beginning but removed it because everyone said that it was unnecessary. After seeing two stories about malicious apps and that Lookout caught them, not Google, I put it back on. It uses some battery, but it's nothing outrageous. On something like this I'd rather be proactive than reactive.

Maybe it's because my desktop got the AV Security Suite Virus a couple of weeks ago and turned it into a large paperweight, but being vigilant is not necessarily a bad thing. That's just me, not saying anyone has to install it, but I wouldn't fault anyone for doing so either. If I did and their phone got screwed up, I'd feel bad about it.

 

[marcelob]

Not needed.

Just like auto task killers, they are gimmicks. If you intend to d/l random .apk files off of the internet or install random apps in a foreign language with <50 downloads from the marketplace, then it might just be worth it.

 

[nathanb7]

Has anyone that's running lookout ever found a virus? I've been running it for awhile and its neverfound anything.

 

[sucker4pa1n]

I never tried lookout (I use Mobile Defense for location/lost phone stuff) but I had AV Free for a while and it definitely did not sit well with my phone. Mainly it would continually break my messaging (losing texts is rather annoying to a person who has saved texts for years... just in case.) To each their own, but as others have said, AV on an Android phone is only necessary if you aren't selective in your market browsing. or if you download and install unsigned apps you find on like... limewire... lolz.

 

[Fine69]

I'm running anti-virus. its only a matter of time the virus designers start making them for phones to 1. to make them useless and 2. steal your info and your contacts. Granted you would have to install it at this point but I'm pretty sure they will figure out a way to give you one in a message or email like they have with other operating systems on phones