Viruses on smartphones: a growing problem

Protecting your computer from malware, or “malicious software” that can “infect” the data on it, is a priority. But it is not considered equally important to take care of smartphones, which are increasingly easy prey for hackers and malicious attackers. The numbers are staggering: according to a report by Kaspersky Lab, the well-known software house that deals with cybersecurity, 116.5 million attacks toward mobile devices were recorded last year, launched through malicious software, and it is expected that by the end of 2019 this number will be doubled.

What is malware?

The term malware is used to refer to different kinds of more or less malicious malicious software, here is a brief overview: adware is annoying but not very dangerous, and once it enters the system it causes advertisements to appear while using apps. To avoid problems, we avoid clicking on banners. Spyware are dangerous, as their purpose is to have access to our personal data, and passwords. They can even detect what we type on the keyboard. Trojans are a sneaky category, often hidden in one of the many applications we have downloaded perhaps out of curiosity, and when activated they can steal information, send SMS to paid services, or download other malware. Viruses on the other hand, in most cases, create malfunctions to our devices, and finally there are Worms, which are viruses designed to spread quickly by exploiting address book contacts by sending text messages, emails and chat messages without our knowledge.

iOS or Android?

It doesn’t matter whether we have an iOS iPhone or an Android smartphone, both are at risk of infection if we are not careful. Sometimes the danger can also come from the stores from which we download apps. Hackers have become increasingly good at hiding their codes and having them activated after the app has been installed. From this point of view, it is possible to call iOS more secure. Apple has a much stricter app approval process than Google, which uses a combination of human-led testing and automated tools such as Google Play Protect to detect malicious apps. In addition, iOS is a closed system and its source code is secret, while Android’s code is open source: it is definitely more flexible but once vulnerabilities are detected it is easier to develop apps that exploit them. On Android, however, we can install antivirus while on iOS, Apple does not allow it. Ultimately each operating system has its pros and cons, and when it comes to malware the best protection is us and our use of our devices

How to beat malware and protect yourself from data theft

• We only install apps from the official stores, and again if we are asked for permissions at startup that do not pertain to the operation of the app before granting them we ask for explanations from the stores’ support service.
• We always keep the operating system and applications up-to-date; often these updates contain security updates.
• We pay attention to the emails we receive, avoid opening unknown attachments, and avoid responding to emails or messages asking about our personal information. In most cases these are Phishing attempts.
• We surf on known and safe sites .
• We use a different password for each site or service we are subscribed to, and if available we enable two-factor authentication.
• We avoid communicating too much personal information on social networks: by providing too much personal data shared on the Net, we may be subject to scam or identity theft.
• If a virus hits our device we first try to delete suspicious apps, then install an antivirus (on Android) and run a check. If still present we remove the malware with the antivirus. In case this is not possible all that is left is to format the device and restore it with a pre-infection backup.