Picture this scenario. You surf the web for some good deals on apps for your phone. You find a deal on a media player that you like. You download it from the web and install it on your phone. A few weeks later you get your next wireless bill and instead of being the $59.95 you expected it’s for a little over three thousand dollar. Your phone has a virus.
Android’s Open Source Vulnerability
Mobile phones work much like computers. And just like a computer, it’s possible for your mobile phone to get a virus or pick up some malware. While that doesn’t happen very often, it’s more likely to occur with an Android phone than with a Blackberry or an iPhone because Google (Android’s owner) has taken an approach to the development of apps that allows for almost anyone with the necessary skills to create Andorid phone apps. The Android operating system is open source – which means that anyone can look at how it works, and anyone can write apps that will work on an Android phone.
The open source approach to app development is one of the reasons Android has been so successful. The number of apps available for an Android phone is growing quickly. But are the phones unsafe? Most Android apps are distributed through the Android Marketplace. Those apps are screened for viruses before they are distributed. By comparison, not all the details of Apple's operating system for mobile devices, called iOS, are public information. That doesn't mean that Apple's phones are completely safe from malware, though. Social networking still opens up a few holes - even in Apple's security systems. But Android phones are more vulnerable.
Mobile Phones Virus History.
While traces of malware have been detected earlier on Android phones, the first Android virus popped up in August, 2010 according to Fast Company Dot Com. It was disguised as a media player, but once installed it sent text messages from the infected phone to premium sites that then charged the infected user a fee which showed up on their bill. These fees ran into the hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars. Two notable things about the virus (named Trojan-SMS. AndroidOS.FakePlayer-A by the tech lab that discovered it): first, it was never distributed by Android Marketplace and second, it only effected users in Russia. In other words, Android users who got this virus picked it up by looking for apps outside the Android Marketplace. That practice is easily identified as unsafe. (It should be pointed out that SMS viruses like this have existed for other cell phones since 2004 - before Android was around.)
About six months after the fake media player, viruses made their way into the Android Marketplace for the first time. The UK's Daily Mail reported that three developers' accounts were suspended and at least 50,000 Android users downloaded the corrupted apps before they were removed from the Marketplace. The apps included viruses that could hijack a phone and steal personal information.
Do You Need Security Software?
The short answer is: probably. The likelihood that your Android phone will ever be infected with a virus is extremely small. As the number of apps available increases, that may change. And security is a broader concept than just virus protection.
A number of programs exist to address Android phone security needs. Perhaps the most popular one is Lookout. That program offers virus protection, data backup, and will help you locate your phone if it is lost or stolen. Best of all, Lookout is available free from the Android Marketplace.
McAfee and Norton have both gotten involved in Android security recently and also have apps available. There are a few dozen other security apps available for your Andoird phone with a variety of features focused on everything from viruses to password protection.
Sources:
- Android phones more vulnerable to hacking, viruses than Apple iPhone, International Business Times, Jan. 12, 2011.
- Addy Dugdale, Android Gets First Ever Virus, Fast Company, Aug. 10, 2010.
- Google withdraws more than 50 virus-infected apps from Android Market, Mail Online, March 4, 2011.
- Jeff Goldman, Top 20 Android Security Apps, eSecurity Planet, Sept. 3, 2010.
- Brad Reed, 8 essential Android security apps, NetWorld, March 8, 2011.
Greg Cruey - Greg Cruey is an educator and journalist. He works as an educational interventionist specializing in a small, rural school in Central ...
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