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I have plenty of common sense folks; enough to know that "things happen". I was very happy to have the additional protection the one time I needed it. If you prefer not to have the extra security on your phones, that's cool, but let's not accuse those of us who prefer to have it of lacking common sense. It's an individual choice, and it the OP asked for information. :-)
 
Rxpert83 said:
IMHO...They're a waste of your phones resources. Common sense is more than enough to keep you safe, and in the event your phone is lost/stolen there are just as good apps out there that don't have all the extras
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The Android OS itself wastes more resources than the anti-malware does. I haven't noticed Lookout lagging anything.

And a person can be very cautious and still get malware. If anything, common sense says get a reputable and good antimalware program.

Gone is the days that anything not Windows can't be attacked. Android is facing a flood of attacks and we put more and more sensitive information on our phones, it will only get worse.
 
Elphie28 said:
I have plenty of common sense folks; enough to know that "things happen". I was very happy to have the additional protection the one time I needed it. If you prefer not to have the extra security on your phones, that's cool, but let's not accuse those of us who prefer to have it of lacking common sense. It's an individual choice, and it the OP asked for information. :-)
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I merely was stating that if you are cautious about the apps you download (look at their reviews, check how many downloads they have, check into the developer), the links you click (obviously this applies to anything with access to the web), dont download paid apps for free, download from reputable markets (google play, andriod appstore, ect) you will be fine.

The reason the chinese have so many incidents of malware is that google play is blocked, so they have to go elsewhere for apps and many times people add malware to the apk.

Thats the information I chose to give the OP :D
 
As was mentioned ... there were three major occurrences of App Store (now Play Store) distributing apps with malware.

It is absolutely correct that in a perfect world this kind of software is unneeded. Unfortunately I make mistakes and I am sometimes tired and I sometimes miss things.

When it occurs that I am not perfect I really appreciate having "another pair of eyes" looking out for my interests.

... Thom
 
I meant no offense to anybody. I was making a joke. I have never personally met any off you, don't know if you have any common sense and like you said it is a your choice what you do with your phone. I do have lookout on my phone but keep it off and when I want it to run I will run the scan. Like Rxpert83 said there is common sense involved when downloading apps, surfing the web and pretty much anything else you plan on using data for. How many of you actually read what the app is going to have access to when you hit accept and download? Like some said the Op asked for opinions on anti-virus programs and they were given, whether you agree or take offense it is still someones opinion on the subject.
 
Thom Little said:
The term is malware that is a little more than virus. Virus is just one forem of malware.

There are a lot of people who think it is not necessary and ignore it.

I run Norton's on my Bionic and have no real way of knowing if it was of any use since the day I installed it. It seemed prudent to me.

You would expect that apps from Play Store were checked out fore malware as part of their acceptance for distribution. They were not in the past. I don't know if that policy was ever changed. There were cases where a few dozen apps were pulled out of their distribution each time because an "interested" technical person suspected a problem, dug a little, and found the problems.

... Thom
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And all were obscure apps that didn't have many downloads or reputable developers, and requested permissions they didn't need. I don't even want to mention the false sense of security an antivirus app gives you, all the false positives, and the undiscovered threats the the app won't protect against.

If you want the piece of mind go with the antivirus, but until there are legitimate threats I will go without.


Then again, I'm rooted so if there ever is a legitimate threat all I have to do is reflash my ROM and I'm clean.
 
Rxpert83 said:
And all were obscure apps that didn't have many downloads or reputable developers, and requested permissions they didn't need. I don't even want to mention the false sense of security an antivirus app gives you, all the false positives, and the undiscovered threats the the app won't protect against.

If you want the piece of mind go with the antivirus, but until there are legitimate threats I will go without.


Then again, I'm rooted so if there ever is a legitimate threat all I have to do is reflash my ROM and I'm clean.
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They may be obscure apps now, but there was a time not long ago people said the same thing about Windows PC's, that antivirus was not needed. These days does anyone who goes without antivirus on a PC, even if they try to use safe browsing practices, are they seen as having common sense? No, and for good reason.

I do not believe "common sense" is enough to keep anyone safe and believe this thinking comes from the foolish notion that Linux (what Android is built on) can't get malware. ANYTHING can be attacked maliciously, it merely needs enough users to provide incentive for people who wish to do malicious things.

For one thing, what guarantee is there that the list of permissions will always be complete under every circumstance. Would love to know what magic software uses on the Play market to ensure that that can never be bypassed so it can be used in all software.

EDIT: And what might be sent out to some hacker before you reflash? Reflashing does no good if the malware has sent out sensitive data.
 
wildkitten said:
They may be obscure apps now, but there was a time not long ago people said the same thing about Windows PC's, that antivirus was not needed. These days does anyone who goes without antivirus on a PC, even if they try to use safe browsing practices, are they seen as having common sense? No, and for good reason.

I do not believe "common sense" is enough to keep anyone safe and believe this thinking comes from the foolish notion that Linux (what Android is built on) can't get malware. ANYTHING can be attacked maliciously, it merely needs enough users to provide incentive for people who wish to do malicious things.

For one thing, what guarantee is there that the list of permissions will always be complete under every circumstance. Would love to know what magic software uses on the Play market to ensure that that can never be bypassed so it can be used in all software.

EDIT: And what might be sent out to some hacker before you reflash? Reflashing does no good if the malware has sent out sensitive data.
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Yaa i agree. As long as there is some bonehead trying to hack users or trying to access someones information, there will always need to be some form of protection needed. I just didn't know if i needed it for the DROID Bionic.
 
I agree with the observation about peace of mind.

Don't trust current malware programs. Do whatever you can to protect yourself ... that is your best defense.

In addition I run a malware program in parallel with what I am doing with the idea that it just might catch something before I find it.

History has shown that we start in an environment with no problems, a little problem occurs, all hell breaks loose and we all go scrambling.

... Thom
 
Just to chip in my two cents, I've been using Bit Defender. There is a free version and the premium version is quite a bit cheaper than Norton.
I think it's probably a good idea to have some sort of anti malware app, especially if your going to root and allow App's from unknown sources (those from outside the play store) to install.
I don't know how useful all the anti-theft features really is as all someone would need to do is uninstall the app or do a factory data reset if it's someone who really wants to steal your phone.
 
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