Virus

[conan1600]

Ok so I have another noob question. Do I need some kind of firewall and antivirus program on my tab? I mean I spent a ton protecting my laptops and desktops, so is the tab already somehow pretty well protected or do I need something?

And if so what do you recomend

Sent from my SCH-I800 using XDA App

 

[bpt888]

Get Lookout from market, it's free. Thats what I use as a antivirus program. It has some other extra features with it too.

By default Android does not accept connections from the outside unless you tell it to.
So for a firewall, to stop applications from accessing the internet (wifi or 3G) you can try Droidwall. It doesn't work with ClockWorkMod though because of the older version of busybox built in to it. So if you are not using ClockWork for your recovery, it should work.

There are very few (only heard of one so far) viruses that have hit smartphones as of yet. But it is good to be prepared.

 

[drksilenc]

you do NOT need an antivirus for an android device as it is present... All those reports you see of viruses on android are done by the company MAKING the antivirus software

 

[bpt888]

you do NOT need an antivirus for an android device as it is present... All those reports you see of viruses on android are done by the company MAKING the antivirus software

What do you mean it is present? I didn't know android came with antivirus software. Yes, I have heard teh argument that antivirus software company are the ones making the viruses. But the fact is ( whatever the truth is) if you get hit with one, its still a pain. Since its free for now, go for it.

PS. Viruses has been on a decline though for computers and none made for smartphones yet. Lol maybe symanctec is had to cut cost and got rid of their programmers. I know Mcafee just got sold to Intel. Or maybe they are all waiting for the right time to release them when everyone's guard is down. Do I smell conspiracy Either eay, if the stuff on your phone is important, protect it.

 

[le3ky]

You don't need one.

bpt888, drksilenc didn't mean the antivirus app makers were making viruses, he said that they were the only ones reporting on them.

What has been reported so far have not actually been viruses. It seems you have fallen into the trap those who make apps like lookout want people to fall into.

They report on things like, apps requesting device id's etc. You can see that an app will do this by looking at the permissions it asks for. eg, no need for an "antivirus" app.

If you actually read the "virus" reports from these companies, you'll see nothing is needed.

 

[Geletis]

There are no viruses on Android.

None

Zero

Nil

Android anti-virus programs are a worthless waste. Actually less than worthless, as these useless programs just slow down your system for no benefit.

Android isn't Windows, it doesn't have holes the hackers can easily drive through.

 

[Adapt0r]

If you concerned about your privacy install firewall (Droidwall for example) and tune its setting to block wallpaper or some other apps connecting to somebody you don't know.
Sometimes applications request internet access without good reason raising doubts in their purpose.
You will need to obtain root privileges to run firewall. Ironically this might lower your Tab protection against network intrusion. However, none of this is known threat unless you unknowingly install trojan and any other malware.

 

[xarthos]

No virus software needed. Seriously it is a waste of time.

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[foxmeister]

Android isn't Windows, it doesn't have holes the hackers can easily drive through.

Sorry, but this is just FUD.

Windows is far more secure than most people give it credit for - it's just that it is the target for 99% of all attacks because it is so ubiquitous.

If and when Linux achieves some sort of relevance on the average consumer desktop, I'd expect to see a lot more attacks targeted its way and a corresponding increase in security issues.

Regards,

Dave

 

[TheGrammarFreak]

Sorry, but this is just FUD.

Windows is far more secure than most people give it credit for - it's just that it is the target for 99% of all attacks because it is so ubiquitous.

If and when Linux achieves some sort of relevance on the average consumer desktop, I'd expect to see a lot more attacks targeted its way and a corresponding increase in security issues.

Regards,

Dave

I agree, but surely the way that Linux (and Android) is made makes it inherently more secure? Without root access there's not much that can be done to truly compromise a Linux system, and Android sandboxes everything

 

[foxmeister]

I agree, but surely the way that Linux (and Android) is made makes it inherently more secure? Without root access there's not much that can be done to truly compromise a Linux system, and Android sandboxes everything

I agree there's a certain degree of additional security provided by sandboxing, but we've already seen APKs (e.g. Z4Root) that can gain root access, so it's not infallible. It is one of the reasons that I use Chrome on all platforms - if you check out Pwn2Own, Chrome has yet to fail, and that it mostly due to sandboxing - however, it is not a panacea!

There is definitely an element of "security through obscurity" around non-Windows OS's. Note the use of the word "element" - I'm not saying that Linux or any other OS are insecure, just that they are attacked less than Windows.

The point is that modern Windows is far more secure than most people realise - any OS given the same amount of attention by the "bad guys" in comparison to others. Vulnerabilities exist in all OS's and will continue to found and exploited.

I'm in full agreement that currently the real security threats on Android are down to users not paying enough attention to the permissions that an app requests when it is installed, but this will likely change as Android gains popularity.

I do pay attention to the apps I install, so I personally don't feel the need for any kind of security suite on Android at present.

Regards,

Dave

 

[TheGrammarFreak]

Cool, thanks for your thoughts.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab