Is Jelly Bean OS safe to use or have security risks?

[kolack]

I have an old Galaxy Tab that I want to set up for a family member who is not very tech savvy. But I'm curious myself, is the Jelly Bean OS safe to use in light of the known security flaws? Are there any protective measures that can be put in place to deter any attack? Are virus and malware apps of any use to the Jelly Bean OS? The reason for all of this is because the Tab won't upgrade to anything higher than 4.1.2...

 

[kolack]

Is it the Webview vulnerability that is the greatest risk on Jelly Bean? Am I at less risk to this by using alternative browsers to the stock Android browser?