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Do y'all use any anti virus or whatever?

badutahboy said:
I've had avast installed for a couple years. It's got a great security/location suite, which is why I installed it. I have NEVER had any sort of virus warning. I've never run a scan, since that's not why I installed it, but the lack of any sort of warnings over the course of 2ish years tells me the antivirus is pretty unnecessary.

FWIW, I've downloaded a handful of potentially dangerous files. I don't get involved in app piracy, but I've downloaded a handful of MP3's, ebooks, etc.
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Malicious ebooks, MP3s, JPGs, etc. are not going to happen on Android I don't think. Simply because it doesn't assume they're executable and try to run them, unlike Windows. Which is how buffer overrun and code injection exploits work. If you do happen to come across one, I'm 100% sure it's going to contain malicious x86 Windows code, which Android can't run anyway.
 
thisISjoel said:
I've come over from Apple a while ago, so never had to think about it before.
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You just failed information security 101. Any device connected to the Internet is potentially vulnerable.

Sure, Windows has more malware than any other platform, including true viruses. And the restrictions Apple place on sideloading and their greater scrutiny of apps in the app store make it harder to pick up malware. Nevertheless there have been one or two examples of malware making it to the its App Store. Likewise although there are no true Android viruses malware exists, and has occasionally got into the Play Store (though most is found elsewhere). So you don't need to be paranoid, and I personally don't feel I need a malware scanner, but you should always think about what you install on any platform.

The biggest security threat Apple users face (and for disclosure I have a couple of Apple devices too) is assuming that they don't need to think about security. Although I can see the marketing advantage of Apple presenting it that way, it doesn't really do their customers any favours.
 
mikedt said:
Malicious ebooks, MP3s, JPGs, etc. are not going to happen on Android I don't think. Simply because it doesn't assume they're executable and try to run them, unlike Windows. Which is how buffer overrun and code injection exploits work. If you do happen to come across one, I'm 100% sure it's going to contain malicious x86 Windows code, which Android can't run anyway.
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I kind of assumed that, but didn't know the technical reasoning behind it. Thanks for the explanation.
 
I have the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware app. installed. I more than likely don't need it on my Nexus 5, but I'm somewhat fond of the program on Windows as a free option to help clean up other people's computers I'm working on. It offers a "shield"/live scan on the Android version, and some other things too, for free that it doesn't offer for free on the Windows version. Kind of hoping that it may catch malware intended to run on other OSs (especially Windows) too, as I sometimes use my phone to get programs and media for them. Granted, I make it a habit to not get software from questionable sources.

I'm also in the industry (as it were) and take a lot of precautions on my computers. I run Windows on them primarily, and since back around when I started using Windows 2000 (roughly 14 years ago) my computers haven't been unintentionally "infected" (compromised) with malware. Point being, Windows is a very safe OS, if you know what you're doing. (Problem being that it is vulnerable and most [the majority of] people don't know what they're doing or they don't care, at least in regard to computer security and best practices.)

While relevant to the specific security measures you should take, the kind of OS you're using is largely irrelevant to the overall security risks using it poses. The vast majority of security threats come from the bad decisions and ignorance of their users. (Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I saw someone's home PC/laptop for the first time that didn't have some kind of malware on it.)
 
It isn't needed to be honest. All you need is an anti-theft app. Google has Android Device Manager just for that, though there some third party alternatives with more features.
 
Nope. Even on my PC. Only use the free Trend Micro Housecall. Been like that for a couple years now, and not one single issue.
 
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