Is it really necessary to have an antivirus on the smartphone?

[ArisAntoine]

In a way, I've seen the issue of antivirus on mobile devices as somewhat ambiguous. Even, other people have told me that smartphones can not be affected by viruses - this does not stop convincing me -.

Is it really necessary to have an antivirus on the smartphone? And if necessary, do they provide enough protection? If so, what are the best options to install?

 

[djrakowski]

I can only offer my opinion... No, I don't think it's necessary to install antivirus software unless you're in the habit of surfing dodgy websites or downloading software from sources other than the Google Play Store.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I've never used antivirus on Linux or Android. In my opinion, it is only necessary for Windows.

 

[ArisAntoine]

Yes, it is precisely what I have always thought. I understand that the Android code is based on Linux, so it should present its same potential against viruses. But I'm left with some doubt based on this because I've seen several people who comment on the need to have antivirus on their smartphones to protect their personal information or any malicious app.


In that sense, I fully understand djrakowski's comment,

I can only offer my opinion... No, I don't think it's necessary to install antivirus software unless you're in the habit of surfing dodgy websites or downloading software from sources other than the Google Play Store.

What if the case is that I continually make payments through my cell phone? What it means, TDC management and other payment methods. If this is the case and not that I browse through malicious websites, would it still be necessary to have an antivirus or Android give me adequate protection against the theft of that information?

 

[drenfree]

So my take is better safe than sorry. Your phone can be pwned via malicious text message just by opening it, spear-phising email, malicious apps which have made it to Google play store. It may not stop everything but can stop some. The mobile AV will also have it's own blacklist of malicious domains.
APT's, crime syndicates as well as few hackers out there are actively targeting mobile devices.


https://thehackernews.com/2017/05/android-hacking-technique.html

https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/25/c...it-that-lets-hackers-hide-malicious-activity/