Viruses?

[imogen]

Hi everyone, I just bought my very first touchscreen phone today - the HTC Magic, and found this great site through an internet search.

So far the phone's looking great, and I can't wait to start downloading apps from the Android Market. But i've got a couple of niggling questions that I hope you guys would be able to answer:

1. I've read that apps downloaded from the Android Market do present a risk of infecting your phone with a virus. What would be the likelihood of this? (I'm usually very cautious and do check for user reviews before downloading stuff, but there's always still a risk)

2. Are there any anti-virus softwares that I can download for my phone? I've heard some people recommend Flexilis, does anyone know if that's good?

3. What can you do when your phone becomes infected with a virus?

Thanks in advance and cheers!

 

[SamIam]

Interesting...I'd like to know as well.

 

[punkzanyj]

First, having worked for an IT company anti-virus software is pretty much useless. Modern viruses are sophisticated. Guess what they target first upon infection? The antivirus software! They either disable it, or make it blind to their presence. If by some miracle your antivirus software IS able to find a virus ---that's about all it can do, find it. You'd likely still have to call in a local professional to spend a good chunk of change removing the virus. Again, modern viruses are tricky, and anti-virus software just doesn't catch up.

Second, the biggest hole in any security system is the user. You can have the most expensive, big name, snazzy anti-virus software, but all it takes is clicking "yes" on the right button or link to let a virus right past your defenses. Safe surfing is a better, smarter option. I don't visit anything on my phone I haven't already visited on my PC. I use a script blocker in Firefox and really don't stray off the beaten path, I don't click on links in email, or on web browsers if it seems even slightly suspicious. I rarely download anything unless I trust the site.

Finally, linux isn't very popular and from what I understand, it's structure makes it pretty much virus proof. Virus creators are trying to do some damage, so they go for big, popular systems like Windows. That's why there arent a lot of mac viruses either, because they're still a small market.