On Monday 31 Dec 2012 21:04:59 Clive A Wills wrote: > Now I know some of you have the Nexus 7 and would like to know if there > are any problems with virus' and if a virus programme is required. Also > how pleased/good is it; reviews have all been good. (£199 in PC World > and £189 in Argos)
PC World staff get a commission if they sell 'add-ons' with any computer. I have no idea how much PC World charge for Norton for Android, but the online price is £29.99, which makes a big difference when the device itself is less than £200. I don't have a Nexus 7, but I do own an Android phone; there isn't really any difference as you point out. Android *is* vulnerable to viruses (as is Linux if they are targeted to it). It is also a single user OS, where the owner has root privileges, so, as with Windows, any viruses don't have to overcome basic security to get installed. Unlike Linux, (or rather the Linux we are all familiar with, since Android is a Linux distribution), it has a very large user base which is growing every day. This means that there is much more incentive to attack it than Linux, so it doesn't hurt to take some precautions. As you say, you still have to agree to install the software, so there are no 'drive by' vulnerabilities. I would be surprised if the virus count for Android ever got to be anything like Windows. What you don't need to do is pay through the nose for Norton Antivirus. There are several free ones and some have a paid-for Premium version. I use Lookout: https://www.lookout.com/. The Premium version offers some useful additional features for $29.99 per year, but if all you need is anti-virus, the free version works fine. My wife uses the Avast offering: http://www.avast.com/en-gb/free-mobile-security. We have used Avast on our Windows machines for around 10 years now and the only time we got a virus was when my son turned it off. Both Apps are available from the Google Play Store once you have your device. The chances are, if the user is careful about what he or she installs, then they will never get a virus on Android. So the story is nowhere near as bad as on Windows, which is almost guaranteed a virus if you don't run a scanner. I mainly installed Lookout for the peace of mind and the location service, which will allow me to locate the phone if it is lost or stolen. In the end, it's up to the user whether they bother. There aren't many viruses reported for Android, so the chances are there will never be a problem. -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-01-08 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:[email protected] How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
