Do you need Anti Virus / Spyware App??

[Crashdamage]

My HTC Incredible keeps getting pop-up adds in the notifications window. Saying, "I've won and Iphone" and Victoria Secret ads. I haven't found any anti-malware software for my device and the anti virus says nothing is wrong.

Antivirus is worthless on Android. Uninstall it. Install AirPush Detector and that should tell you what app you installed that's causing the pop-up ads.

 

[shaneo1]

OK just to clear things up here... Android is not Windows, it is Linux. The only way you can mess with a Linux Kernel is if you have root access. This will allow you to access the file system. (not like a Windows folder where anyone can write over the system files)

Everyone who has an Android phone will NOT have root access. Meaning the system the system files can not be written over, hacked or deleted in anyway. The only area a normal Android user can access is the user home folder. Apps that you download can read the file system files, and that is it. Needless to say you will never get a virus.

The only time you can mess with the Android Phone is when you CHROOT it, meaning you become a super user, admin and can mess with your file system.

Take it from someone who has been an Ubuntu user for over a year and never had an issue with it doing all the crazy things Windows does. Android is Linux 2.6 it has a firewall and antivirus built in the kernel.

There are some badly written apps out there that can do things, but you can be 100% sure that they will never mess with the core of the phone. If its a bad app or you are unsure of it dont' install it.

The funny thing I see on the TV today was an Android Phone selling with Norton Antivirus, its a big joke, they are trying to get money out of you all who are so used to Windows PC's and the many viruses they harbour.

Word of advice, ANTI VIRUS on Android Linux devices is a waste of time and money. Period.!!!!

 

[mikedt]

My HTC Incredible keeps getting pop-up adds in the notifications window. Saying, "I've won and Iphone" and Victoria Secret ads. I haven't found any anti-malware software for my device and the anti virus says nothing is wrong.

You've installed an ad-supported app or game that uses AirPush advertising. It's probably very objectionable, although AFAICT AirPush is quite legit and legal.

An antivirus will NOT detect it, because it's not a virus.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

There is a post referring to installing "Airpush Detector" from the market to identify which app youve installed that causes this. Then you can know which app to remove.

Ive almost installled a tv type app that would have pushed ads to my navigation bar.. Its not a virus but irritating if you dont want to see them.

 

[Tattycakes]

If you were to get an unsavoury piece of software on the phone, be it virus, malware or the like, is there any mechanism by which it can pass through USB to your computer, even if on 'charging only' mode? Our workplace has an IT policy that forbids charging phones through USB into your work pc. While I'm obviously not looking to circumvent that, I'm still curious about the chances and risks; I presume they wouldn't need to implement it if virus-transfer was impossible.

 

[EarlyMon]

If you had an infected email attachment stored to the SD card, transferred to the PC, and then opened so it could deliver its payload, that would be a way to spread the infection.

In charging mode? No way. I presume that the policy exists only to prevent the first sort of scenario playing out. People may say that they won't connect in storage mode, but the temptation to do it would likely be too great for many.

2 wire usb cables, capable of charging only and not transferring data, do exist and your IT department is likely aware of this. If someone were bright enough to make them in a special color then your work could enforce use of those as they would allow easy inspection. But they don't.

 

[Martinch0]

As far as I'm concerened... There are no viruses on Android. Antivirus programs for Android are far from what you know about Windows antivirus programs. Android's ones provide help if your phone is stolen(like locking it from distance and sending back it's GPS coordinates), prevent you from downloading viruses which later can be transfered to your PC and protect you from phishing attacks. So it's a good thing to have if there is important information on your phone.

However, in my opinion, you should always check what permissions does you applications need and if you find something suspicious find an alternative one. This way you'll always be safe. Personally I will never install antivirus program on my phone, as it grants permissions to EVERYTHING on my phone and on EVERY action I do.

 

[EarlyMon]

The growing tendency of malware on Android, stealing your data and wreaking havoc is well-documented. Google has caught malware infested apps on the Market, pulled them, and then reached out to phones and erased the apps - after the fact. This has happened more than once.

Not everyone believes an anti-malware app is right for them. I won't say it is or isn't required.

But the existence of Android malware is a known fact.

Avoid free downloads of pirated for-pay apps - it's the number one infection vector. People often want something for nothing - with many sites, that's exactly what you get and a lot more you never wanted.

 

[aysiu]

Not everyone believes an anti-malware app is right for them. I won't say it is or isn't required.

But the existence of Android malware is a known fact.

As far as I'm concerened... There are no viruses on Android.

Personally I will never install antivirus program on my phone, as it grants permissions to EVERYTHING on my phone and on EVERY action I do.

Malware and viruses are not the same.

Malware exists, of course.

But antivirus companies benefit from the conflating of the two terms, because it creates panic and fear instead of well-informed caution. You are far more likely to install an "antivirus" application that does harm to your phone than to magically (without your intervention) contracting an automated virus onto your phone.

If there's malware on your phone, you installed that malware. It didn't just magically get there. And if new malware appears on the horizon that can magically infect your phone without user intervention, no existing antivirus will have magically updated definitions to prevent that from happening.

Use common sense. That is the best antivirus.

 

[EarlyMon]

I agree that it's important to distinguish viruses as a sub-class of malware.

I agree that it's important to not believe the sky is falling.

I agree that experience shows how to make good decisions about what apps to trust.

I also know that experience sometimes comes from mistakes made and that a malware scanner can really save a person with an infected phone.

As always the weakest link in computing security is us users. But until all the tricks to avoid infection are known and practiced, I think it's a good thing that some tools exist to at least help after the fact.

 

[aysiu]

well i think you need a good anti virus for android since android are not immune to viruses and spyware try searching online for some antiviruses

I'm not sure what you mean by "immune to." There are no viruses that magically infect your Android phone without you doing something. Trojans exist that you choose to install yourself. And, more importantly, if some new virus that magically infected Android did suddenly appear, having "antivirus" installed wouldn't protect you from it.

 

[Knocks]

If you consider the current security threats to the Android ecosystem, none of the existing antivirus apps solve them. That might change in the future, but as of now, you probably won't benefit from having antivirus software on your phone.

 

[nehalpatel]

You dont NEED one, but it is good to have it. I prefer avast! mobile security because it protects you from viruses on infected messages(SMS, MMS), URLS, And Apps. It's a free AV.