Android Prone to Malwares, but Anti Virus Softwares not a Necessity for Mobile Phones

Google’s Android OS for phones and tablets has been following an increasing trend in record sales. The increasing sales record was brought about by the increasing number of phones and tablets sold in the market that is optimized by Android. Android applications became widely available in the market, and has recently reached its 10 billion application downloads. Because of its continuous improvement, security researchers at Fortinent pointed out that Android is now the number one target of cybercriminals and malicious softwares.

FortiGuard Labs performed analysis on malware families found on Android. As a result of the study conducted, report showed the Top 5 malwares which every Android User should be aware of. The Top 5 malware families include Geinimi, Hongtoutou, DroidKungFu, JiFake, and Basebridge. Such malwares are capable of stealing private information, control a person’s phone call, send SMS messages to other numbers, and install other malware and launch specific applications.

Some malwares disguise themselves as legitimate while some are repacked and hidden in legitimate applications. Some Anti Virus companies have issued reports pointing out their findings while trying to sell their anti virus softwares. However, Google’s open-source programs manager, Chris DiBona said that Android, RIM and iOS doesn’t necessarily need antivirus software, and such claim was acknowledged by Kaspersky.