Virus protection? Really?

[Crispy]

Is virus protection necessary for a cell phone? Has it really come to that?

 

[jigsawkilr]

My theory was this. If it has software there is a chance for virusus. Software is free so why not have it. I use Lookout. Seems great. It scans my phone, scans all apps I download. I use their site to back up my contacts and photos. If I for some reason can't find my phone I can go to the website and hit scream and my phone will scream untill I pull the battery. If your phone gets stolen or lost they will use GPS and track your phone I believe within 50 feet. All free so why not?

 

[Crispy]

Hmmm.. you make a good argument jigsaw.

 

[jigsawkilr]

Hey bro, Check out their site. So far I have no complaints. https://www.mylookout.com/

 

[Million]

Hey bro, Check out their site. So far I have no complaints. https://www.mylookout.com/

Seconded. I felt the same way you felt... AV on a cellphone?? Has it come to this? After the inital shock, my friend recommended me this very same software... seems nifty to have

 

[Donkey Hodie]

I've also just started using this SW, seems like a good idea. If there are a few million Droids out there, it's only a matter of time until there's a worm or virus.

 

[MobileDroid]

These virus protection program will scan for virusses, but what about backdoors or keyloggers. How would it detect one of those?

How hard is it to get an app in the Marketplace that seems to work great but is secretly capturing your info?

 

[djs]

Does lookout use a lot of battery?

 

[atlharry]

BTW, you can kill the siren by killing the lookout task.

 

[Crispy]

I downloaded lookout, and so far, I love it. Thanks guys!

 

[jigsawkilr]

not sure about backdoors and keyloggers. On a home PC keyloggers generally run undetected by everything as far as I know. (Not 100% sure about this) Let's face it, if someone wants your info they will find a way to get it. I generally don't leave secret info on my phone. My email and documents I delete from my phone but leave it on the server or forward to a private email. As for battery drain, I haven't seen that big of a difference. HTH

 

[hookbill]

Just my opinion but I think that virus protection isn't necessary. These phones are not PC's. Take a look at Macs, there hasn't been an attack in years. I do run Virus protection on the Windows part of my Mac but that's it.

I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that the iPhone outnumbers the Droid by a huge margin and so far there has only been one worm that has been found on that phone and it was not malicious. I doubt there will be any attacks on the Droid.

 

[Donkey Hodie]

Just my opinion but I think that virus protection isn't necessary. These phones are not PC's. Take a look at Macs, there hasn't been an attack in years. I do run Virus protection on the Windows part of my Mac but that's it.

I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that the iPhone outnumbers the Droid by a huge margin and so far there has only been one worm that has been found on that phone and it was not malicious. I doubt there will be any attacks on the Droid.

You could be right, only time will tell. Having said that, I see it as relatively cheap insurance. Lookout doesn't seem to add a lot of overhead (only scans files that are downloaded) or use a lot of battery (unless you're compulsive and scan every few minutes). Seems like a small price to pay for protection just in case you're wrong.