For years now we have been drilling into readers' minds
the importance of antivirus software, but times are shifting and whereas
previously many of their computing tasks took place on a desktop computer and now
they take place on a phone.
Android viruses, leading users to think installing some
sort of security software is a good idea. And the more popular Android becomes
the more of a target it is for the dreadful guys.
In almost every case, Android phones and tablets do not
need antivirus installed. Android viruses are prevalent as media outlets may
have you believe, and your device is much more at risk of theft than it is a
virus. The huge majority of known Android viruses have been installed on the
back of corrupt apps. If you are installing apps outside of Google Play,
installing an Android antivirus app is one way to keep yourself secure.
However, the most awful thing you can do is to assume you
are protected by an antivirus app and drop your guard. Even with the best
antivirus apps, though, false-positive results are common. This means you may
find your AV app reports an app as corrupt when it's harmless. In these cases, picking
other precautions could be a more tempting way to safeguard your device from
Android viruses. Such precautions range from carefully checking any requested
permissions before approving to them, avoiding cloned apps and keeping Android
up-to-date.
It's worth pointing out that antivirus apps for Android
often have other practical benefits, such as the ability to remotely lock or
wipe a lost or stolen phone, or backup and cleanup tools. All these tools are
available elsewhere, usually through free apps or manual administration but it
can help to have everything in one place.