Monday, January 16, 2012

Mobile Device Anti-Virus Software

Apple grants the same access rights to all Apps on their devices which means that each App can access the data from the other Apps.  For example your Angry Birds App could access the data from your Banking App, if the developer of the App wanted to.  This is why Apple is so protective of what can be installed on their devices and makes the Apps go through a strict vetting process.  I can only find one Anti-Virus program for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.  It is called VirusBarrier iOS.  It costs $2.99.  I did find that it does not actively run.  You have to choose to run it prior to opening any attachment or file that you download.  I believe this is more of a limitation that Apple is enforcing than the Anti-Virus companies.

Google's Android takes a different approach at security.  It allows you the option to install an App from any source(Amazon App Store, Google App Store, or download from a website) and each App is required to request access to what it needs and you get to approve or deny it.  That application doesn't have rights to access information from another App unless you grant it permission while installing that App. I found a big issue with this methodology is that people seem to accept the permissions that the App is requesting without even reviewing it.  I recommend not allowing Apps to access the Internal Storage or the SD Card unless you trust the app.  There are also many Anti-Virus solutions for Android.  I am currently using one called Lookout which has a free edition or a paid for edition.  There is also an option called Avast Mobile Security which is free.  I have been using Avast for years on my PCs and have had a good experience with it.
To sum up:
iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch: use VirusBarrier for iOS which can be downloaded from the Apple AppStore.
Android: Many options are available in the Google Marketplace.  Some include:

No comments:

Post a Comment