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posted: Feb. 17, 2013 @ 3:55p
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dishdude
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posted: Feb. 17, 2013 @ 4:01p
Don't go to third party app stores and you won't get any viruses. I can't believe you are paying for virus protection on a phone, or any device for that matter.
I recently looked into whether I should get some kind of security protection for my phone (from Norton or whatever) --
However, most of the typical internet sources (the mainstream techie websites, electronics ratings sites, etc.) said that there is little point buying anti-virus/security programs for cell phones, at least at this point in time.
They also said that tests on the cell phone anti-virus/security programs available now showed them to be pretty bad at protecting phones (they let 50% of problems through their shields during the tests, or something like that).
As the poster above said, the resources I found last month said that the best way to protect your phone is to only download apps that you trust from the main app store of your manufacturer, and to do the normal security of protecting the phone physically with pin and sim card lock (or whatever) and being really careful about using your phone with free wifi and other situations where there may be people spying on your phone activity.
Also, many users reported that the antivirus/security programs slowed down their phones and had a disproportionate drain on battery power.
I'd encourage you to read up on it - do a general online search for this kind of article.
It hasn't slowed down my phone at all. It scans every app I download, scans every website I open. And they also have the phone tracker in case u lose ur phone or somebody steals it. You also can wipe out data from ur computer and stuffs like it.
NantucketSunrise said: I recently looked into whether I should get some kind of security protection for my phone (from Norton or whatever) --
However, most of the typical internet sources (the mainstream techie websites, electronics ratings sites, etc.) said that there is little point buying anti-virus/security programs for cell phones, at least at this point in time.
They also said that tests on the cell phone anti-virus/security programs available now showed them to be pretty bad at protecting phones (they let 50% of problems through their shields during the tests, or something like that).
As the poster above said, the resources I found last month said that the best way to protect your phone is to only download apps that you trust from the main app store of your manufacturer, and to do the normal security of protecting the phone physically with pin and sim card lock (or whatever) and being really careful about using your phone with free wifi and other situations where there may be people spying on your phone activity.
Also, many users reported that the antivirus/security programs slowed down their phones and had a disproportionate drain on battery power.
I'd encourage you to read up on it - do a general online search for this kind of article.
I am not sure how much they protect, but its just sense of security. It scans everything I do. And it also backs up all my data.. and $33 a year isn't too bad I guess.
dishdude said: Don't go to third party app stores and you won't get any viruses. I can't believe you are paying for virus protection on a phone, or any device for that matter.
However, most of the typical internet sources (the mainstream techie websites, electronics ratings sites, etc.) said that there is little point buying anti-virus/security programs for cell phones, at least at this point in time. Link please
However, most of the typical internet sources (the mainstream techie websites, electronics ratings sites, etc.) said that there is little point buying anti-virus/security programs for cell phones, at least at this point in time. Link please I've seen it repeated many times. I couldn't tell you where off the top of my head, though.
riznick said: I've seen it repeated many times. I couldn't tell you where off the top of my head, though.Yeah, me too. But then I see articles like these and I start to get concerned.
However, most of the typical internet sources (the mainstream techie websites, electronics ratings sites, etc.) said that there is little point buying anti-virus/security programs for cell phones, at least at this point in time. Link please
That's why I also wrote this in my first post:
NantucketSunrise said: I'd encourage you to read up on it - do a general online search for this kind of article.
This topic is simple to look up on any search engine using the obvious keywords.
AVG, is easy to log into their online website and make the phone (or device, we have it on our Samsung Galaxy Players) emit a "screech" so we can find it; or look to see it's GPS coordinates.
dishdude said: Don't go to third party app stores and you won't get any viruses. I can't believe you are paying for virus protection on a phone, or any device for that matter.
Quite possibly the most ill-informed and naive statement I've seen here in a while. While I agree that most phone AV apps are marginal at best at actually preventing infections, there are PLENTY of apps on the Marketplace, Samsung Apps, Apple App Store, etc. that contain malware. Apple is probably the most closely vetted, and the times they got caught with their pants down they have stated emphatically they don't look at all the code and are more concerned with the look of the app and "maintaining the user experience" than at checking it for malware or even seeing if it functions correctly. Yes, third party app sites contain TONS of malware. However, the mainstream sites are far from "safe". In general, don't download anything that hasn't been closely vetted by the community or comes from a trusted company. I've used a couple free AV products and none of them blew me away. Tests that I've seen from places within the industry have shown that they all basically suck at actually detecting malware or preventing infection. If you buy a product, choose it for the other features like backup and restore, etc.
I use this too. Scans everything, maybe useless, but its free. Plus if someone tries to unlock my phone and guesses wrong on my password 3 times, it quietly takes a picture of them and emails it to me, along with the phone's current location.
Yeah, The Google play store is the wild west. If you know what you are getting and who you are getting it from, then it's pretty safe. Otherwise, beware.
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