![\"android-vulnerabilities\"](\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/android-vulnerabilities.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAs though to brush off substantiated reports showing Android\u2019s vulnerability to malware attacks, Google\u2019s security chief Adrian Ludwig recently presented a report that claims the operating system\u2019s security infrastructure successfully scanned 99.99 percent of app downloads and installations.<\/p>\n
Ludwig raised valid points for all that. He said Google managed to thwart attacks by locking down Android at the device level, meaning its security model has isolated almost every kind of malware that Windows hatched over the years. Verify Apps is at the core of Android’s security mechanisms. The software examines an app before it is installed and weighs the results against Google\u2019s data sets of malware information to notify users about potential risks.<\/p>\n
The search giant has faith in warnings as the most forceful check to malware and that strategy has been around for more than a year now.<\/p>\n
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But a recent memo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seems to contravene Google\u2019s big data findings. The authorities alerted their security personnel to a huge volume of malware attacks drawn by Android mobile devices. According to that memo, 79 percent of hacks have hit Google\u2019s OS, while iOS and Nokia\u2019s Symbian attracted only 0.7 percent and 19 percent, respectively. The FBI and DHS put the blame on Android\u2019s large market share and open source environment.<\/p>\n
The agencies identified three common attack techniques employed by hackers. First is the SMS Trojan, which the hacker uses to spam out text messages to premium numbers and collect the charges at the expense of the unsuspecting user. Second is rooting, a sometimes tricky ploy of attackers that logs keystrokes and passwords. Finally, there\u2019s the fake URL disguising as coming from genuine websites such as Google or Facebook only to lure users into installing malicious apps.<\/p>\n
With the dynamically changing threat landscape, there\u2019s certainly no one-size-fits-all solution to addressing various malware attacks.\u00a0There are, however, proven ways to secure Android devices from threats, thanks to security researchers:<\/p>\n
Most hackers would imitate items from app stores and turn them into apps with varied names. As some stores such as Google Play doesn\u2019t maintain a list of trusted apps, you will be better off doing a background check for an app, including its reviews and ratings, before deciding to download it. And\u00a0as much as possible, never let third-party stores push items to your device. To make sure you don\u2019t fall for this trap, disable the \u201cUnknown Sources\u201d option in the Settings page.<\/p>\n