elsiegee40 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) The title says it all really. Do you use an AV/Security app on your tablet and/or phone and if so, which one did you choose and why? The reason I ask is because I don't currently, but am increasingly aware that I should probably be doing so. As we have both Android and iOS devices around my house, I am interested in both. Edited January 31, 2015 by elsiegee40
elsiegee40 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Posted January 31, 2015 I have AVG Free on my Android smartphone. And does it seem to do what it should without draining the battery every 10 seconds?
Chuckster Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I use MalwareBytes on my Samsung Galaxy S4 Android device. Prior to that it was Lookout on on my S2. 1
IrritableTech Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Have you seen the free sophos android AV app? I believe it is one of the few that has been built from the ground up for Android, and not a ported engine from another platform. Might be marketing blurb though! I think it has a fairly quick and easy way of auditing permissions in apps too - which may be of interest. 1
ticker Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) I have the Sophos one on my phone (as recommend by @RichCowell) and the two other android tablets in the house, i also have MalwareBytes on the tablet. Edited February 3, 2015 by elsiegee40 2
RichCowell Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 The title says it all really. Do you use an AV/Security app on your tablet and/or phone and if so, which one did you choose and why? The reason I ask is because I don't currently, but am increasingly aware that I should probably be doing so. As we have both Android and iOS devices around my house, I am interested in both. The Sophos app is quite powerful, and free... there's an anti-theft thing to wipe remotely (though anyone with their work email on their devices is likely to have that anyway, this is another option), and other features... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sophos.smsec&hl=en 2
spadam Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I installed AVG Pro as Amazon were giving it away free over Christmas but actually forgot about it until I read this post... Have to have a play with that over the next couple of days..
elsiegee40 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 I have the Sophos one on my phone (as recommend by @RichCowell) and the two other android tablets in the house, i also have MalwareBytes on the tablet. You have sophos and MBAM on the tablet @ticker?
ticker Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 You have sophos and MBAM on the tablet @ticker? Sorry should have read my post before posting. I have the Sophos AV installed on two tablets and the phone in our household, The MBAM isn't compatible with all of the devices we have where as the Sophos one is. My father in law has a tablet and i put MBAM on that when i original set it up for him, that was before @RichCowell recommend the Sophos one. 1
Arthur Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) The reason I ask is because I don't currently, but am increasingly aware that I should probably be doing so. What are you trying to protect your phones/tablets from? Does Your Android Phone Need an Antivirus? Android itself has some built-in antivirus features. Before considering whether an antivirus app is useful, it’s important to examine the features Android already has: Google Play apps are scanned for malware: Google uses a service named Bouncer to automatically scan apps on the Google Play Store for malware. As soon as an app is uploaded, Bouncer checks it and compares it to other known malware, Trojans, and spyware. Every application is run in a simulated environment to see if it will behave maliciously on an actual device. The app’s behavior is compared to the behavior of previous malicious apps to look for red flags. New developer accounts are particularly scrutinized – this is to prevent repeat offenders from creating new accounts. Google Play can remotely uninstall apps: If you've installed an app that is later found to be malicious, Google has the ability to remotely uninstall this app from your phone when it’s pulled from Google Play. Android 4.2 scans sideloaded apps: While apps on Google Play are checked for malware, apps that are sideloaded (installed from elsewhere) were not checked for malware. On Android 4.2, when you first try to sideload an app, you’ll be asked whether you want to verify sideloaded apps are safe. This ensures that all apps on your device are checked for malware. Android 4.2 blocks premium rate SMS messages: Android 4.2 prevents apps from sending premium-rate SMS messages in the background and alerts you when an app tries to do this. Malware creators use this technique to rack up charges on your cell phone bill and make money for themselves. Android restricts apps: Android’s permission and sandboxing systems helps limit the scope of any malware. Apps can't sit in the background and watch every keystroke or access protected data, such as your online banking credentials from your bank’s app. Apps must also declare the permissions they require at installation. [*]Does iOS malware actually exist? Everyone knows there's no iOS malware, right? Strictly speaking, there is. As a practical matter, there isn't. At least if you stick with the official Apple store, you are more likely to win Powerball than to be hit by iOS malware. But to make that "strictly speaking" point, FortiGuard Labs's Axelle Apvrille ("the Crypto Girl") felt it necessary to list all the iOS malware on record — all 11 instances, eight of which work only on jailbroken phones. As we have both Android and iOS devices around my house, I am interested in both. Are the Android and iOS devices rooted / jailbroken? If you're installing apps from unknown sources, third-party app stores and/or pirated apps I could understand why you would need an antivirus app, but otherwise what's the point? If you just need the ability to track a lost/stolen phone or tablet perhaps an anti-theft app would be a better choice? e.g. Cerberus, Prey or Avast Anti-Theft. Edited February 3, 2015 by Arthur 1
Joanne Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 I've had smartphones for about 8 years now and have never installed an antivirus on them. For reasons stated above really... Don't need to unless you are doing something dodgy with them 😊
RichCowell Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) The Sophos one scans the app for reputation, and alerts you if it's just capturing data/info etc. I've uninstalling a few I've tried just from the alerts from Sophos... Mine is rooted though, so a definite need for increased protection... But I'd have it on anyway, better safe than sorry, and it's free so not doing any harm... If you look at the battery log I've never seen Sophos appear on there so it's not really draining resources either... Edited February 4, 2015 by RichCowell
elsiegee40 Posted February 4, 2015 Author Posted February 4, 2015 If you're installing apps from unknown sources, third-party app stores and/or pirated apps I could understand why you would need an antivirus app, but otherwise what's the point? BBC News - Android adware 'infects millions' of phones and tablets ... from apps installed via the Play Store
Arthur Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) from apps installed via the Play Store A few things worth mentioning... Avast didn't detect two of apps in question until the end of last month. According to VirusTotal - Sophos, Malwarebytes, Avira, AVG, Bitdefender and many other antivirus apps - still don't detect the adware, and as of today the "IQ Test" app is only detected by two AV apps (ESET NOD32 and Cyren). See the links below for more details. Reading the numerous 1-star reviews in the Play Store would have made it obvious the Durak and IQ Test games were dodgy, even before some anti-virus apps started detecting them. Uninstalling the apps would have removed the adware. Technically the apps aren't viruses. How likely are you to install Russian apps from the Play Store? com.cardgame.durak VirusTotal, APK Scan Play Store (Cached) com.konka.russian.history VirusTotal, APK Scan Play Store (Cached) com.iwolt.iqtest VirusTotal, APK Scan, Andrubis Play Store (Cached) Edited February 5, 2015 by Arthur 1
Arthur Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 @elsiegee40. As a test I downloaded the APKs of all three Russian apps from the Play Store via Evozi, then scanned my Nexus 5 with anti-virus apps from Sophos, ESET and Avast. The only one that detected the APKs in my Downloads folder was Avast and that was only after I enabled the file scanning option (which isn't on by default). Based on these results it would appear that many Android anti-virus apps are nothing more than a placebo. http://a.pomf.se/lijrwh.png http://a.pomf.se/vmgzbg.png http://a.pomf.se/jofbid.png http://a.pomf.se/aahnkn.png http://a.pomf.se/nnoprt.png As you can see from the screenshots below the permissions definitely look very suspect. http://a.pomf.se/ghsjjb.png http://a.pomf.se/bjcayb.png http://a.pomf.se/jnxpww.png 1
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