Do I need to put a Security Antivirus on my S7

[AC Question]

Do I need to put a Security Antivirus on my S7 to protect it

 

[anon(9602380)]

Welcome to Android Central.

No you don't have to but I would suggest it. Unless you really know what to do to avoid problems. Thanks.

 

[RossJosh]

I can second Fire's opinion. You do not. If you are not planning to root the phone or do anything else funky with it that can damage its security, you should be good to go. Just remember to be careful what apps you are downloading and what browser extensions you are adding, as that often can lead to adware if not carefully observed.

 

[VidJunky]

No, it's a complete waste. Android is a sandboxed OS, meaning that it is very unlikely to contract an actual virus. It's more important to read reviews, 1 and 2 star reviews in particular. Often these reviews will tell you if the app has annoying push notifications or pop-up ads. Check permissions. Too many permissions can lead to malicious activities and behavior long before a virus will ever invade your device. Don't be the first. Don't jump on new apps if there's less than 50k downloads you're probably better off finding another app. My rule is 100k. Don't install anything with less than 3.5 stars. Again you're probably better off finding another app. Don't install anything with as many 1 star reviews as 5 star reviews. 5 star reviews can offset the 1 star reviews and make apps look better than they are and reviews are easy to fake, and which rating do you think fake reviews will give? Stick to name brand apps, if you haven't heard of it there's probably reason. Be informed, be proactive and worry less about what might get in and more about what you let in. Gl

 

[Rukbat]

"very unlikely to contract an actual virus" and "can't contract an actual virus" are different. Use a regularly updated anti-virus, whether the phone is rooted or not.

Look at how many security updates have been issued. If it's between the time the malware first appeared and the time you get the update, your phone is vulnerable to that malware. Most good antivirus companies issue updates a lot faster than cellphone manufacturers do. (All they have to do is add the malware's signature to the data file and send it out. Phone manufacturers have to rewrite the ROM - which is a whole different order of programming.)

And an antivirus app doesn't use the phone most of the time. It scans incoming files, so when you're just using the phone it's dormant.