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VTR

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Hello all,

I just purchased a note 10.1 and am new to Droid. I have alway used iOS devices and have heard with Android you need to purchase/install antivirus. Is this true and if so what do you all recommend for me? Also can I update the software because some apps I want to download say that they are not compatible with my tablet? Thank you all for your help in advance. I am ready to embark on this huge learning curve cause I am lost right now :)
 
You don't need any anti virus software if you stick to programs from Google Play Store, and don't root.
What software are you trying to run that is not compatible with Android 4.0?
 
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Welcome to Android and Android Forums!

Antivirus isn't really necessary unless you're installing a lot of 3rd party apps that haven't been vetted by Google Play. I use Malwarebytes though. Like GLC, I'm curious as to what it is you want to run that isn't compatible.

It's great to have you here :)
 
The_Chief said:
Welcome to Android and Android Forums!

Antivirus isn't really necessary unless you're installing a lot of 3rd party apps that haven't been vetted by Google Play. I use Malwarebytes though. Like GLC, I'm curious as to what it is you want to run that isn't compatible.

It's great to have you here :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, all the apps I have have been purchased or downloaded through the play store. I did not know you could download third party apps, guess I never had that option lol. I was more worried about surfing the internet. It has been a while since I have used a PC and last one I had got viruses just from surfing the web. My GF just got a windows based tablet and was told by the salesperson that she needed to download antivirus as well.
 
Certain apps said it wasn't compatible. I will have to go back and find which ones. I know one right off the top of my head was periscope
 
There are a lot of real viruses out there for Windows. I don't know about their tablet OS though - bear in mind the sales person may not be an expert.

However, there are no true viruses on Android, i.e. malware that can infect the phone just by visiting a website site or opening an email without you having to explicitly install it. Malware does exist, but you have to install it yourself (e.g. by installing a "free" version of a paid app from some download site, which has had malware added to it). So if you don't enable the option to install apps from "unknown sources" and don't go around installing stuff from random download sites then you should be pretty safe.

(The option to install apps from sources other than the Play Store is useful on occasions, but you then have to be careful what you install. If you need to use it my advice would be to enable it and then disable again after use, rather than leave it enabled all the time. It will be disabled by default).

Interestingly enough, I just had a look on the Play Store and it tells me that Periscope is compatible with my Note 10.1 (2014). What OS version are you running? It requires 4.4, but that's been out for the Note 10.1 (2014) for a while - don't know about the original Note 10.1 though.
 
I am not sure what I am running but I am thinking that it is not 4.4. The guy I purchased it from new, stated he had purchased it for his wife approx 5 months ago. I guess I assumed it was a very new product. I am guessing now that it is not new but an old pre 2014 note which kind of ticks me off but I will learn on this and upgrade as I need to.
 
Back when I had eensy Droids with meager storage, I had to ignore having AV running all day long. But now, with storage problems in my past, I use AVG, just as I've been using on my PC for years. I still don't know if I need it on either platform, but those horror stories, heard over and over, tend to have an effect. Whether AVG is the best choice is something I'll never care about enough to research an answer – it's usually ranked near the top and that's good enough for me.
 
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jefboyardee said:
Back when I had eensy Droids with meager storage, I had to ignore having AV running all day long. But now, with storage problems in my past, I use AVG, just as I've been using on my PC for years. I still don't know if I need it on either platform, but those horror stories, heard over and over, tend to have an effect. Whether AVG is the best choice is something I'll never care about enough to research an answer – it's usually ranked near the top and that's good enough for me.
Click to expand...
Really? Most reviews I see have it ranked quite low.
 
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Hadron said:
There are a lot of real viruses out there for Windows. I don't know about their tablet OS though - bear in mind the sales person may not be an expert.
Click to expand...

I purchased a Windows tablet last month, it's exactly the same Windows as runs on a PC, runs all the same programs. There was Windows RT which was for tablets, but MS discontinued that a while a go. Myself, I use Windows Defender, and have only installed the software I actually need and use, nothing else. But on the other hand it's sometimes in contact with the school's Windows stuff, like Office documents and PPTs etc, and this is China, so you never know. It's not my main device though, I usually use a Mac for most things, and all my other devices are Android.
 
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