According to data from F-Secure, between early 2011 and early 2012, the number of Android malware families increased from 10 to 37, and the number of malicious Android apps that were submitted have increased from 139 to 3,069. That's a lot of malicious apps. This is a major increase in just 12 months.
"New families and variants of malware keep cropping up each quarter, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. This growth in number can be attributed to malware authors crafting their infected or trojanized applications to defeat anti-virus signature detection, distributing their malware in different application names, and trojanizing widely popular applications," F-Secure adds. Of course, it is obvious that the more popularity a platform gains, the higher the chance for hackers to target that platform. So if you are still on an Android platform, be cautious!
source: ZDNetAs an adjunct to this posting I have taken it upon myself to include 8 Free Android Antivirus Apps. Please understand these come with absolutely NO recommendation as to their quality or ranking as good, better, best, and so on.
Google’s Android is fast becoming the most popular mobile OS in the world. The popularity of the Android OS attracts the attention of malware writers and virus engineers.
Every week we hear reports about fake Android apps. Just a few days after the launch of the Instagram Android App, cybercriminals have created fake versions with the purpose of earning money from unsuspecting users.
Keep malware off your Android phone using one of these 8 free android antivirus apps.
Norton Antivirus & Security opens google play
Norton™ Mobile Security Lite protects your mobile device against loss, theft and malware. Norton lends its anti-malware, anti virus, and security expertise to mobile. Your life and your important Stuff is on your phone. Keep it safe with Norton™ Mobile Security Lite for Android.
Mobile Security & Antivirus opens google play
Enjoy your device. We keep it safe. Protect your phone from viruses and save your battery life with Bitdefender Mobile Security and Antivirus. Because your smartphone is no good if you can’t use it.
avast! Mobile Security opens google play
Full-featured Antivirus and Anti-Theft security for your Android phone.
Protect personal data with automatic virus scans and infected-URL alerts. Stop hackers by adding a firewall (rooted phones). Control anti-theft features with remote SMS commands for: history wipe, phone lock, siren activation, GPS tracking, audio monitoring, and many other useful tools.
AVG Antivirus Free opens google play
AVG Antivirus for Smartphones & Tablets automatically detects harmful Apps & SMS
AVG Mobilation™ Antivirus Free is a free mobile security solution that helps protects your phone from viruses, malware, spyware & online exploitation in real-time.
Zoner AntiVirus Free opens google play
Zoner AntiVirus® Free is a modern security and anti-virus solution for your device. It provides protection against viruses, dialers, trojans, worms, spyware, adware and other malware as well as phone call and message protection.
ESET Mobile Security opens ESET website
Protect your Android smartphone and tablet from emerging threats.
ESET Mobile Security is a security solution combining ESET’s mobile-optimized proactive antivirus scanning engine with antispam and antitheft features to provide real-time protection against known and emerging threats—without impacting performance.
Avira Free Android Security opens google play
Security that’s on your phone even more than you are!
Your phone is always in good hands! Log in to the
Web Console to manage your phone’s security.
Dr.Web Anti-virus Light opens google play
Protect your mobile device from viruses and spam with a popular anti-virus from leading Russian anti-virus vendor Doctor Web, whose acclaimed products first appeared on the market in 1992.
