Android malware vulnerability statistics

With the technology growing so fast, it's not only the PCs that are vulnerable to viruses but we also need to be cautious with our mobile devices. It has been reported that the rate of Android devices getting infected with malware viruses varies by country.

If you look at the graph above created by Lookout Mobile, a security software for Android mobile devices, the U.S. has the lowest rate of malware infection with less than one percent whereas the Russia has the highest with 42 percent. The second highest is Ukraine with 28 percent, then China with 7.6 percent, and Israel with 2.6 percent. Some European countries like France and Germany have a fairly low risk of infection with less than 0.4 percent. These numbers are based on the calculations of app-based threats and web-based threats. Lookout added all the number of threats on new Lookout users within their first week of use and divided it by the total number of registered users and kept the record monthly.

I want to warn the readers to be cautious of the apps you download because these people can easily create fake apps to infect your hardware. Here's a good tip for securing your Android:

1. Stick to the official Google Play store, if it's available in your country.
2. Password-protect your phone. Always. You just never know when you might lose your phone, but why risk having all that stored data fall into the wrong hands?
3. Download an Android security suite with antivirus detection, for all those apps you sideload.
4. Use a Web shield in your mobile browser to block phishing attacks and other Web-based threats; most suites will include this.
5. Block apps with adware with an app like Lookout Ad Network Detector (unfortunately not integrated in its Editors' Choice suite) or Trustgo Antivirus and Mobile Detector.

source: https://www.mylookout.com/resources/reports/state-of-mobile-security-2012

Posted in: android, lookout, mobile, smartphone