On 01/01/13 09:24, Terry Coles wrote:
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.
Details of a recently found virus for Andriod phones
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20768996
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