How to know if an app is virus or not in Application Manager?

[zanshin777]

Is there a way to know that?

 

[Mooncatt]

Not really. A well designed virus will appear as a legitimate app. In some cases, it'll be part of an app you purposely downloaded (common in piracy, and thus not legitimate). I've also seen an up tick of questions where users are finding the system apps, which are part of the OS, and get freaked out thinking they are viruses when they are not.

The good news is that it's rather hard to get a virus on android. As long as you don't install apps from random sources, visit sketchy sites, or click on popups claiming you have a virus and must use their specific app to fix it, you are most likely fine. Apps in Google Play are regularly scanned for malware. To install anything that isn't in the Play store, you have to purposely turn that option on in your phone settings.

 

[Rukbat]

"A virus" is an app you don't want, or an app that you want, but that's doing something you don't want, and is propagating itself to other devices. Malware is any app you don't want, or an app that you want, but that's doing something you don't want.

There's nothing special about a malware that marks it as malware, it's just an app. It's what it does that makes it malware. An app that propagates itself trough Android devices that eliminates a particularly difficult-to-get-rid-if-virus is a virus - but one that's doing something good.

There's no way by just looking at an app to tell if it's malware of any kind. Anti-malware apps (including antivirus apps) maintain a database of "code snippets", strings of code peculiar to particular malware apps (and good ones maintain databases of millions of them, updated at least a few times a week as new malware is discovered), so they can "recognize" the code of something you don't want.

One other way of not getting viruses on Android is to NEVER install anything from Cheetah Software. Google them and you'll see articles going back 5 years accusing them of data theft using "free" apps, like Clean Master and CM launcher.

 

[zanshin777]

Thank you very much for the answer Rukbat.