Malware is a very hated word for many technology users out there. The intent of a particular malware program is to exploit information or rack up charges for a profit. There are a number of safe guards against malware, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still get through at times. Yes, Android has malware apps out there, but as long as you are picking up your apps from trusted sources (the Play Store) you are pretty safe. If you happen to use file sharing services, torrents, some dudes dropbox account, or other random locations for APK’s, then you obviously run the risk of picking something up that could be rather nasty.
A lot of common sense goes into protecting yourself against malware on your device. Obviously getting your apps from trusted sources is a good start. Not opening up that random email or text from someone that has a link or an attachment. Being sure to read through an apps permissions doesn’t hurt either. You can also install a security app to help out if you are super paranoid, like Malwarebytes, AVG, Lookout Security or other reputable names you might know of from the PC world.
“At this point, there really is a collection of services that we’re starting to think about as the Google security services for Android,” Ludwig says. “We want to make sure there is no single point of failure within our platform so users can be protected.”
We will have to wait and see what happens when the new Play Services update starts to roll out. There is the immediate concern that another constantly running service will hit the battery life of our devices. It is a constant cat and mouse game between security, malware and users. I don’t mind the thought of an added layer of security and protection, especially if it is all handled behind the scenes where I don’t even have to think about it. However, I don’t randomly install things from John Doe’s off the wall link on some forum.
Source: Computer World Via Android Authority
