Related
Dear Forum...I just purchased the Viewsonic G Tablet at CompUSA and they told me to purchase anti-virus software and install it on the GTAB. I have not done this yet until I seek some answers from forum GTAB users. 1. Any recommendations on which anti-virus software to install? I was considering the FREE version of AVG? 2. Would you down load this software to the internal 16Mb memory or to the 16Mb micro SD card that I just installed? 3. Is there an APP anti-virus software that is recommended? Thank you for the feedback and helping out this new GTab forum member.
gwasson,
I don't know of many people that are running an antivirus program. I'd get everything
else in line and running and just watch for anything on AV. But so far you won't find much.
Rev
Here's my take.
CompUSA was trying to get some more money out of ya.
I wouldn't worry about an antivirus, and I cant even imagine how bad that would slow everything down and drain your battery. Not to mention would it even do any good or would it already be to late.
Even on a computer I dont run an antivirus because of the side effects. I watch what i download and dont go to smiley central. and I don't have any virus issues.
On an android device its almost just more of a gimmick than anything else. If people will install it, they'll keep making it.
Not once though have i seen or heard from anyone I know that runs an android device run into a virus issue.
Just watch what apps your installing. Look at the reviews. If there arent any, and it looks questionable, maybe steer clear of it.
You shouldnt have any issues. If you do, you shouldn't have been doing what you were doing to begin with!
I use the free AVG antivirus, works nicely, aint slowing the gtab so it was worth the try at the end.
Plus having an extra security wont harm you either, at the end even an iphone could be hacked with viruses at least jailbroken ones of course
If you really want to run one (it's not much of a vector for malware, so don't feel like you have to), you could also look up Lookout. It has some great secondary features.
For those of us running stock setups. Which device would we select at getjar.com if we wanted this or other software? XOOM is an option but much of the stuff is not available for it yet.
I really don't think the anti virus software works for mobile devices because they clean way to fast. I'm sorry but I don't think the application can go over 2980 files in seconds. And I have never had anything reported but I have had viruses. To much porno. Just playing. But please tell me way you honk about anti virus software.
If you don't mind antivirus companies knowing where you go on the web, I guess it doesn't hurt to have AV on your phone. But I've never heard someone say "thank god I have AV on my phone, it saved my ass"
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Lookout seems to be the Johny one that does anything useful.
Android =\= windoze, you don't need an antivirus if you use common sense when downloading apps.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk
Lookout is top notch, it doesn't seem to use a lot of resources either. Never had a problem but since android is so popular now I'm sure there will be more malware floating around eventually.
Avg can make you loose root. The android platform is split so a virus if one makes it to your phone is instantly quarantined. Av is kinda pointless.
THUNDERBOLT
Do I need to have some kind of Antivirus protection for my Thunderbolt?
I think they slow everything down on my Thunderbolt. If I do need it then
which one is the best that won't slow down my Thunderbolt.
Thanks in advance for advise.
I don't use AntiVirus because some of them do not like the fact that we are rooted and wont work with it. As long as you are smart with choosing your apps from the market you should be able to skirt around without the need of any AV for your phone.
Should you chose to use one tho I have heard good things about Lookout Mobile Security. Its more advanced features are not in the free version tho.
I don't use antivirus on my rooted Thunderbolt either and I'm pretty sure you will find that the norm amongst our userbase.
Its up to you I do cause i'd rather be safe than sorry but most will slow you down.
Driod security (avg) is the worst, eset is great and I don't notice any slow down on my driod 2, lookout is well fast
Trust me d-..-b im from the webs
Not needed if you pay attention and understand what you are doing.
Antivirus apps are not valid replacements for caution, understanding, and a little sense IMHO.
Hello to everyone!
Maybe it's a stupid, noob question, but I googled for this without success.
And even a search in these forums was not helping, so... let's start!
It's saturday morning here and I start my weekend in one of the most disappointing ways...
Some minutes ago, my Galaxy Note showed a red icon in the status bar. I checked it, and it was Zoner antivirus. Hooray!
The malware that it found was exploit.AndroidOS.Lootor.A, and I don't know what it is, but it really sounds bad.
The disappointment went worse when I discovered that the malware (according to this antivirus) was in the latest Superuser update. Something I'm not going to uninstall without thinking twice.
What should I do? I think I'm going to follow my elephant-phone's suggestion and uninstall the update, since it's telling me that I can use "the original version" (at least, in Italian the message I see means literally that).
If you tell me -as I think- that it is just a false positive, I'll be happy to reinstall any update, but anyway I am asking for the opinion of more experienced users.
Thanks in advance!
PS: while I was writing here, there were some evolutions in this problem.
I followed the instructions and uninstalled some update (or at least the phone told me so).
Now it seems that Superuser should be uninstalled because it has inside
exploit.AndroidOS.GingerBreak.A
HELP!
I'm not going to uninstall superuser (I think I couldn't anyway), but I am worrying now!
PPS: ok googling exploit.AndroidOS.Gingerbreak.A I found that it is a false positive, so I assume that also exploit.AndroidOS.Lootor.A is safe... but I still would like some confirmations, I am quite new to Android and this is not the way I want to learn lol.
Virus scanners on android truly are pointless. They will pick up anything that changes the root permissions llike Super user or the root exploit. As long as your not using apks from iffy sites like 4shared or something you will be fine.
So how can we solve that?... I found a couple of apks on APPLANET that lead to a GAME CASINO on real market... Strange but that´s look like a virus to me...
Thank´s in advance.. Cem..
Don't use applanet unless your begging for a virus or to have your phone make calls to long distance numbers and send texts to paid account. Also no one on XDA will help you with any black market app markets.
zelendel said:
Virus scanners on android truly are pointless. They will pick up anything that changes the root permissions llike Super user or the root exploit. As long as your not using apks from iffy sites like 4shared or something you will be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not expert enough yet to discuss your point, it just seemed weird to me since it is the very first problem I had with an android anti-malware software. I've run Superuser for something like two months without any warning...
Anyway it's solved now, even if not in the best way. Something messed up in my beloved phone when I rebooted it one moment after my last post... I had to re-synchronize all my accounts and to reinstall most of my apps, it seemed that my phone lost all app data.
Now it's ok (luckily, I've learned enough 'til now to bring it slowly back to normal) but the procedure was painful.
Great lesson here: wether you consider antimalware useful or not, don't rely on it more than on good ol' common sense!
PS: anyway, why are they pointless? Aren't they able to find possible problems? I've recently learned that "possible" problems aren't necessarily problems, but it seems strange to hear that they are useless... just an explanation please.
Always good to have a virus scanner on you're android mobile. Even i've you only downloading wrom the market it can be infected (Very small change). Nothing is secure in this world. Better to have protection one time to much then to have it to late. How more popular android is going to be, how more change you can have for infections. Even its still low. Lookout cost nothing and says nothing about my superuser and other rooting apps. I use it on my tablet and phone and it works great.
Recently read a test and no Antivirus App was able to find more 15% of the Viruses, plus they always slow my phone down.
Best solution for me is being cautious and checking permissions.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
i think it might be a good idea for all that root their devices to first understand the concept of a false posotive virus scan result
also it may be worth understanding that from anti virus software standpoint any alteration to system safety may be undesirable as its designed for the end user who doesnt even know what root is ..
increasingly android caters for 2 markets, the sort of people who come here and probably own about 30 devices including pcs tablets phones etc and love tech.
and the other market of people who own a pc with xp on it and one phone, only running android because thats what the salesman sold them - and not because they insisted on Android.
terminal 7 said:
i think it might be a good idea for all that root their devices to first understand the concept of a false posotive virus scan result
also it may be worth understanding that from anti virus software standpoint any alteration to system safety may be undesirable as its designed for the end user who doesnt even know what root is ..
increasingly android caters for 2 markets, the sort of people who come here and probably own about 30 devices including pcs tablets phones etc and love tech.
and the other market of people who own a pc with xp on it and one phone, only running android because thats what the salesman sold them - and not because they insisted on Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I have to agree. Too many people get Android because its cool and then they root because they think its cool. They should understand what they are doing before they make a choice for the OS on their phone.
If you think running Linux is too much trouble to run and keep up on your computer why would you run it on your phone when it takes just as much to keep up?
terminal 7 said:
i think it might be a good idea for all that root their devices to first understand the concept of a false posotive virus scan result
also it may be worth understanding that from anti virus software standpoint any alteration to system safety may be undesirable as its designed for the end user who doesnt even know what root is ..
increasingly android caters for 2 markets, the sort of people who come here and probably own about 30 devices including pcs tablets phones etc and love tech.
and the other market of people who own a pc with xp on it and one phone, only running android because thats what the salesman sold them - and not because they insisted on Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but you know, I had the naive hope that an antivirus for Android should check if an app is going to do a bad use of the permissions I give to it.
I.E. : I see a game that requires internet connection for multiplayer. It's ok, isn't it? In a perfect world, an antivirus should check if that game is going to connect to its multiplayer server or to a bad one... (it's just an example, I think that important brands aren't likely to lose their reputation that way)
Anyway, would you suggest me to give Avast a try? At least, I've seen that it has decent anti-theft features...
Max Morden said:
Yes, but you know, I had the naive hope that an antivirus for Android should check if an app is going to do a bad use of the permissions I give to it.
I.E. : I see a game that requires internet connection for multiplayer. It's ok, isn't it? In a perfect world, an antivirus should check if that game is going to connect to its multiplayer server or to a bad one... (it's just an example, I think that important brands aren't likely to lose their reputation that way)
Anyway, would you suggest me to give Avast a try? At least, I've seen that it has decent anti-theft features...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please receive this feedback as intended, respectfully and well meaning...
if your finding yourself having concerns when an anti virus flags up your rooted status and yet you still feel the need for an anti virus package i suggest you un-root and keep to a stock kernel - this way the anti virus software will inform you of any possible intrusion or system change.
if however you must have root i think you need to simply come to understand more about what the anti virus packages can do .. or actually what they are limited to doing - might i suggest spending some time learning about a popular linux distribution too as it will bring about a different frame of mind and then you will realize that the anti virus software flaging SuperUser as a virus is actually neither true or a false posotive .. its just working from a different set of perspectives to that of a confident root enabled computer user .
i hope this makes sense without coming across in the wrong way, i just really think people should learn from XDA and the devices they buy & come to XDA for help with .
Respect the info found at XDA -and its users, we all learn together here
.
No malware in superuser app. Proceed
sent from an HTC sensation on CM7 alpha #10
super user by chainsdd has been around for a long time. and was developed to make being rooted easier, a lot easier. it gives you control over all files on your device. the developer is very trusted. no worries
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium.
Thanks to every single user that chose to spend some time for this post.
I was kinda sure that Superuser had to be safe, but lack of experience made me fear that somehow I could have downloaded the wrong package, or something...
The weirdest thing, is that Superuser and antivirus have been there together for a while, so I wondered what on earth was happening.
Well, I've done a mistake and now I've learned something... it's ok.
terminal 7 said:
Please receive this feedback as intended, respectfully and well meaning...
if your finding yourself having concerns when an anti virus flags up your rooted status and yet you still feel the need for an anti virus package i suggest you un-root and keep to a stock kernel - this way the anti virus software will inform you of any possible intrusion or system change.
if however you must have root i think you need to simply come to understand more about what the anti virus packages can do .. or actually what they are limited to doing - might i suggest spending some time learning about a popular linux distribution too as it will bring about a different frame of mind and then you will realize that the anti virus software flaging SuperUser as a virus is actually neither true or a false posotive .. its just working from a different set of perspectives to that of a confident root enabled computer user .
i hope this makes sense without coming across in the wrong way, i just really think people should learn from XDA and the devices they buy & come to XDA for help with .
Respect the info found at XDA -and its users, we all learn together here
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was interesting.
First of all, I am not offended at all and I don't understand how I could.
Well I could probably live without root (except for a couple of useful apps)... but I'm not going to un-root it for now.
I am a sturdy guy and I want to learn everything (everything I am interested into, I mean) about this OS. Trying and trying again, at the cost of some little problems if needed.
As for Linux, almost all my PCs have also it inside (win7 mostly for games), and I have never had a problem worth this name when using it. Never had something like an antivirus there, just some common sense and everything was fine.
I think I should have the same attitude towards Android as many of you have suggested. And I am willing to get some more info about android's antivirus limitations. Just because I'm curious.
Can you suggest some particular post here in xda?
Thanks again!
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
Hi Guys,
We know they exist, we get warnings in the news and on internet but I never met anyone who had a virus on his/her phone. And I live in China (Shanghai) with 30 Millions people. I'm starting to wonder if it's really important to have an anti-virus app. Of course wisdom tells me it just need one virus to make it worth. But with all the crazy phone people that are here, there must be someone who had a virus at some point. If so, what kind of virus? How many? And do you think an Anti-virus app is really necessary? Are you using one? Are you wearing condoms?(Whoa forget that last one, too many questions.)
I don't have one for the moment but maybe after reading your comments I'll get one. Will see.
I personally dont use one. Antivirus can (should) detect mallitious apps that might take advantages of user permissions and send sms, call someone or steal personal info without notice. Also almost all antivirus solutions offer anti theft protection (not so useful as it sounds).
My oppinion is that they are not worth the ram ussage if you are not installing free cracked apps from unofficial sources which is the most common place to install malicious app by mistake.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
No. I don't have any anti virus apps too. I feel it is unnecessary.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Using smartphones for 10 years.
never needed oe used an antivirus program (except one occassion, to briefly see its features)
So any of you know someone who had a virus?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Had once in symbian Commwarrior.A but never installed virus soft.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
I don't think I need one! I don't do online banking from my phone! Other than that It will slow down the phone unless you are not doing something dodgy.
I put an Anti Virus on my first Android phone as I fell for all of the scare tactic bull**** companies give you to download their products, but no, I don't on my S3 and never have. If you ask me and probably half of the XDA members, most Android "viruses" are non existant, and are mentioned to scare you into buying their products (most have a paid version that will "scan better"). As a matter of fact I've researched it quite a bit and only came across 2 legit Android viruses, both of which are from illegally downloading APK files from a non-google site.
So to answer your question, unless you download apps illegally, you're fine. Only Android security I spent money on is Cerberus Anti-Theft, it's really good should you get your phone stolen. The only downside is that you have to either have Data or WiFi on 24/7 so if it does get stolen you can access it from the control panel, but there is sadly no other way. Just make sure if you do spend your hard earned dollars on it that you get Titanium Backup or another equivalent so if you wipe your phone you don't lose it.
blackyz said:
Had once in symbian Commwarrior.A but never installed virus soft.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, symbian is not as popular as Android.
What was the virus doing? I mean was it calling people or sending sms to your contact?
no, other that stealing nothign they could do,
but my visa is prepaid and my birthdate is senstive info.
Oh my... of course I have an antivirus app for my phone. In fact I have 10. My phone needs virus protection inception. If I don't have at least 5 antivirus apps on my phone, I won't feel remotely safe.
I typed this by hand.
Techniques said:
I typed this by hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's ok I can read by eyes.
I've been using avast for about 3 months now, having picked up anything, all about preference tho if you feel safer with it then just get one
I've never had antivirus, it just uses way to much CPU, RAM and unnecessary storage on your device. My phones never played up or messed up. I think its just a money making scheme tbh. It slows your phone down and is definitely not needed
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
no, and i think it' not necessary an antivirus
if you know what you do you don't keep virus .... IMHO
Just be careful which apps you're about to downloa - don't install fart-soundsboards for example.
I use Lookout Mobile Security but mainly for the remote locate feature. It's free for up to two active phones in one account (account is tied to your e-mail).
Never had it report a virus though... don't think it hurts and never noticed it slowing down my phone, not even my previous HTC Desire
Eh, I ran Lookout when I first got an Android phone, but I don't think it ever accomplished everything other than introducing a slight delay after installing an application. I do run the JB-compatible version of LBE (which includes a ton of bloat - including an anti-virus), though, as I do like to block permissions, but I'd switch to PDroid in an instant if it were available for TouchWiz ROMs.
i think AV is useless on the phone.
had avast for sometime (got "scared"), other from a little battery drainage didn't feel slower or anything.
removed it to check battery stats without it and just figured it's useless...
as for anti-theft, you get apps that do just that, so no need for AV for anti-theft security.
Depends how confident you are as a smartphone user. If you check your app permissions (or if it is from a reputable enough dev), you shouldn't have any issues. As has been said above, cracked apps are the most dangerous, so be extra careful with those!
Also faik apps can't run hidden on android... so if you are an advanced user you should be able to check with a task manager what apps run in the background. If it isn't running in the background (and isn't your keyboard), then I doubt it can log your keystrokes etc.
So yeah, I don't use one. If phones get powerful enough such that the performance/battery impact is un-noticable, I'd probably install one (as I do on my PC - nod32), even though android is a more closed environment. If you're a noob who installs tons of cracked apps though (p.s. I'm not saying these attributes are necessarily linked lol), then of coure you should use one.