Mobile Phone Malware Is A Growing Problem

Malware on Android phones has now spread to the iPhone.

Malware for mobile devices has been a big problem, but it is expected to become an even bigger problem this year with the proliferation of smart phones. This has been the big problem for Android devices as the app store, Google Play, continues to serve up apps that are infected with Malware. Some of it is intentional and some is accidental. But what ever the case, the end result is the same for those who are infected as a result. All of this is becoming a much bigger problem as those who are doing this have a growing target market as the number of smart phones running Android continues to grow. It seems that the Android Malware problem just keeps rolling along.

According to a Tend Micro report, we can expect to see the growth of infected apps growing and they are predicting a "pandemic" by the end of year. And it is not just Google Play who is delivering these. Amazon's App Store for Android is another location where this happens, so you have to be very selective on what you pick to download. Even some reputable apps have been infected, but not by the developer, but others. It is making it tough to be downloading apps.

And if you think this is limited only to the Android OS, guess again. Apple is getting this problem as well. There are reports of a Trojan horse in the downloads from the app store. This was reported by well known security firm Kaspersky and was tied to an SMS app which has since been removed. Apple in the past has been known for not having malware and virus problems, but with this, it appears they have joined the rest of the world in having to deal with malware.

So, where does that leave you? The issues with mobile devices are not much different than with a computer. Know your sources of downloads. In the case of Google Play, that makes it very difficult because Google is supposed to be filtering out all the bad apps before the public downloads them. At the moment, they are still working to improve that situation. Things which are free to download are generally the ones where you might get malware on your mobile device. Purchased apps are generally far safer and are less likely to cause your problems. Note the "less likely" as developer apps sometimes get infected without the developers knowledge.

Give that Apple has suffered a Trojan horse issue from the app store, we can expect them to step up efforts to protect their customers even more. Google is going to have to really step up efforts. For that matter, any centralized app store which provides downloads is going to have to make them safe. Do not download apps from web sites that you are not confident in. Some are set up quickly solely for the purpose of infecting mobile devices.

Given events this year, we should start to see far more effort put into providing antivirus and malware software which can run on mobile devices. Once these are out in greater numbers, it will be up to the individual to download and install from reputable sources. Go with the well known names and not some company you have never heard of because it is cheap. Remember, you are protecting your information and with smart phones, more of it is being saved there. The Cloud is now coming into play to store your information from your mobile devices.

Things are changing fast, but malware is going to be around for a long time. Be prepared to protect yourself and your mobile device.