There were over 50 applications discovered on the Android Market that contained malware called “DroidDream”. Malware can compromise your data by taking over your phone. The apps were removed immediately when Google became aware of it. It’s unknown if the measures removed them from the infected phones. More than 200,000 devices may have been infected. It has been called “the mother of all Android Malware”.
It will steal anything it can; product info, user ID and more. The biggest problem with “DroidDream” is its ability to download more code. This makes it impossible to know what the app can do once it’s installed and leaves open the possible problems. Once the app starts it uses its permissions to start infecting the phone and working. As a result of this and other threats security companies are now beginning to offer anti-virus and anti-malware software for Android devices.
This is a big concern for me as I recently upgraded to a smartphone running the Android OS. I have installed the “Lookout” app which scans apps as you initially download them and it scans them again when the app updates.
The overall consensus is that it’s not necessary to have ant-virus software installed on smartphones. I think this may have been true when smartphones were first becoming prevalent. But with increased usage it has become a larger target. I feel you should at least have an app or program that scans any apps you download. If you plan on using the phone for banking and other sensitive items I would recommend installing an anti-virus program.
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