question about androids

[brick58]

As I type this I am awaiting my S5 in the mail, I am a little concerned about getting virus? Are all apps in google play safe like in apples app store?
And should I install anti virus? Are all widgets safe? Thank you for your help

 

[codyoehl]

Yeah I'd get some kind of Antivirus
And no, you can get viruses on the play store
Just be careful when you're looking at apps, and try to see who made the app, what the app does (permissions), and if it's trustworthy
And not all permissions are bad, but if you're looking at a solitaire game and it needs to look at and edit your text messages, there may be a problem

Posted via Android Central App with my Samsung Galaxy S5

 

[salmanahmad]

As I type this I am awaiting my S5 in the mail, I am a little concerned about getting virus? Are all apps in google play safe like in apples app store?
And should I install anti virus? Are all widgets safe? Thank you for your help

Viruses can appear on any operating system, Android is targeted more often because a large portion of people use it.

You don't need anti-virus and widgets can't cause viruses.

But be cautious about what you download and never download from an unknown source.

Other than that you'll be good to go.

 

[anon(50597)]

But be cautious about what you download and never download from an unknown source.

This is the most important part in my opinion.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[A895]

To be quite honest, you don't have to worry about any of that, just watch what you download when you web browse and never download from an unknown source. That is it. I have risked my phone more times than not when I have downloaded apks and what not and never had malware. That is why I am very dubious to claims of Android getting malware because I have risked my phone more than most and never had an issue.

 

[mrYoussef135]

Pay attention to the permissions needed by the application, and how they relate to the task offered by the app.

 

[JeffDenver]

As I type this I am awaiting my S5 in the mail, I am a little concerned about getting virus?

The virus thing has been greatly exaggerated by the media. Your actual chances of getting a virus without disabling your security are very close to zero.

F-Secure: Android accounted for 97% of all mobile malware in 2013, but only 0.1% of those were on Google Play

At the very bottom of the list was Google Play itself, with the lowest percentage of malware in the gathered samples: 0.1 percent. F-Secure also noted that “the Play Store is most likely to promptly remove nefarious applications, so malware encountered there tends to have a short shelf life.”

Android Accounted for 97% of All Mobile Malware in 2013

So your chances of getting a virus from the Google Play store are 1/10th of 1%. I have been using Android devices since 2009 and have never gotten a virus, nor have any of the dozens of Android users I have known in real life.

Are all apps in google play safe like in apples app store?

If you mean are they actively scanned, then yes, they are. The few that make it through are quickly removed by Google.

And should I install anti virus? Are all widgets safe?

Widgets are definitely safe. IMO, an anti-virus app is overkill as long as you are not disabling security (and security is on by default). It would be like installing a lightning rod on your car...yeah it might make you safer from lightning strikes, but your real chances of getting your car struck by lightning are remote.

Security, which is on by default, will prevent you from installing anything that does not come from the play store. You have to deliberately turn it off to be able to install non-Play Store apps. When people say "unknown source", they are talking about disabling your security to install a non-Play store app.

That being said, I have disabled security lots of times to install "unknown source" apps over the years and still have never gotten a virus.

 

[jmarkey77]

I'd like to add read the reviews as well. A app may sound good but the reviews reveal its junk either because the reviews are clearly not from real people or real people put in negative reviews with cause. It's rare anymore where crap makes its way into the play store but still be careful. I tell my kids if it doesn't have a blue icon next to the publisher then download at your own risk. While many good publishers don't have this icon and nothing against them, the one with a blue icon as far as I can tell can be trusted without much thought.

 

[slennon]

Not all of them are safe. You need to take a look on permission requirements and application description. Anyway if your device is not rooted you can uninstall bad application from applications screen

 

[JeffDenver]

Virtually all of them are safe. some of them might not work well, or have annoying things like notification ads. But they won't damage your phone or steal your data and sell it.

The exceptions are just that...exceptions. And when Google Finds out about them they are removed quickly. The exceptions are a few apps out of the 1.2 million currently on the store. It's not a lot.