webmail 
LiveChat 
Support 
10 myths and truths you need to know about cell phone viruses
Smartphones certainly seem to be the target of the moment in the virus world. They tend to contain much more personal information than our computers, as they are objects that we don't normally share with anyone and that we are connected to throughout our day. Today, our bank passwords, credit card information and other sensitive data are much more likely to be stored on our smartphones, making them prime targets for malware creators.
Despite the increasing presence of these threats, there is still a lot of misinformation about how they work and, more importantly, how to protect yourself from them. That's why we, here at TecMundo, decided to write an article to shed some light on the myths and truths about mobile viruses.
1. It's very easy to get a virus for your cell phone
We can say that any device connected to the internet, be it your computer, your cell phone or even these appliances that can be controlled via the network, is subject to the action of viruses. The difference between the systems is also not relevant: Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows and the others can also be targets of extremely harmful malware.
Despite this problem, it is not so easy to get a virus on your cell phone, as all systems are relatively safe. Your smartphone will definitely only get infected if you download and give broad permissions to a suspicious app, which is not the simplest situation in the world.
2. What are the main forms of threat?
The most basic threat to your cell phone is malware dedicated to stealing information and using your identity to send spam, buy products, services and other similar problems. Usually they disguise themselves in the form of useful apps, free versions of paid software with altered lines of code. Despite this, it is very rare that they manage to pass the sieve of official stores such as Google Play and the App Store. The companies responsible for these systems dedicate a lot of time and effort to keep their offer of applications free of this type of scheme, even though Google has more difficulties on this front thanks to the free nature of its OS.
Other types of viruses that affect cell phones, although they are more uncommon here in Brazil, are those originating from SMS. They occur when you receive a message with attachments, an image or something else that needs to be opened, and this file in question could be a type of malware. Even when you know who sent the message, that doesn't make the file any safer, since, once inside your device, it gains access to your privileges and your contact list, being able to send messages to all your acquaintances.
The consequences of these attacks are usually much more inflated phone bills, as you end up sending SMS to premium services that charge you to reply and send messages to your device. For this reason, this type of attack is so infrequent in Brazil.
Other threats exist, such as baseband hacking, a process in which it is possible to listen to your calls and other similar actions, but they require a huge amount of technical knowledge, as well as a fake signal reception tower, and are so rare and uncommon that it is not necessary worry about them.
3. How does someone get a virus on the cell phone and how to avoid them?
As we already mentioned, the first step is to download an application or open an unknown file. It's always important to read the reviews in the store before committing to the download. If you are in doubt because of controversial comments, don't hesitate to use Google and do a little research on the program. If you don't see any particularly negative comments about it, feel free to download it.
Another important attitude to avoid headaches is to check the permissions that applications ask you when downloaded. After all, why does a wallpaper need to know your contact list? Always be wary of apps that require things that aren't tied to the functions he described in the store.
The reality is that the best way to protect yourself from malware is to be smart. If you don't install cracked and unofficial software, or pay attention to everything you download, nothing will certainly happen to your phone, and that goes for any operating system.
4. Be careful when navigating
The social networking internet is full of short URLs that lead to malicious websites, spam, dubious content and even virus downloads. So, just like on your computer, it's important to be careful with the websites you enter and especially the links you receive.
The most vital tip is: never accept the installation of executables and other files when on sites you are unfamiliar with. While it's uncommon for you to get a cell phone virus this way, it can happen too.
5. Androids are more insecure than iPhones
Despite what some say, Android is one of the least susceptible platforms to viruses. It is estimated that less than 0.001% of app installs are able to bypass Google's security.
The few malicious applications that pass through the company's sieve need to break through a series of barriers until they cause harm to your system. First of all, Android doesn't let you install applications from which you don't know where they came from, an option that's been selected beforehand and that prevents any malicious software from entering your system. If you go past this security, there are still five more precautions until it has access to your OS, like checking permissions, checking runtime security, etc.
This reputation for being insecure on Android is due to its freedom. Anyone can put an App on the Playstore, while the App Store leaves this privilege reserved only for Apple itself, which evaluates case by case before something enters. Despite this, there is an extremely wrong idea that the iPhone is immune to viruses and malware. Despite the control over applications, we frequently discover security flaws in Apple's operating system.
Symantec, one of the largest web security companies, wrote a report reporting that it found about 387 security flaws in iOS; for Android, the number of bugs they found was only 13. Other methods, such as Jailbreaking, which free the iPhone from Apple's monopoly by allowing access to other stores, make it even more vulnerable than Android to apps. mean. It is estimated that in the first week of Evasion (jailbreak program) alone, more than 7 million users have made use of it, showing the strength of this type of resource on Apple's platform.
6. Cell phone virus can spread through the air
Unless we talk about shared WiFi networks, or that it is possible to download malware from your 3G connection, it is practically impossible to catch a virus from the air. The only possibility, as we have already mentioned, would be if someone were to mount a pirate antenna and know how to pass all the firmware on their system. Although cases like this have appeared in the United States, they are so rare that they don't even count in statistics.
7. Can a virus damage or burn the cell phone?
A priori, a software virus will never affect your mobile's hardware. However, on rare occasions, it can permanently damage your system, turning your device into an elegant paperweight. Despite that, these cases are extremely rare and most viruses nowadays want to steal information or replicate a profitable action for the hacker. Nobody gains anything by simply destroying a cell phone's system, so this type of virus is extremely uncommon.
8. Can a virus make your cell phone drain its battery?
Certainly the presence of a virus can drastically affect your cell phone battery. This is because it needs to use your memory and your processor to work, effectively acting like any other process inside your phone. The more processes you have open, the more battery you use, and the more they demand from you, the faster your battery will drain.
For this reason, it is possible to say that this is not a myth, although not necessarily a virus will use up much more of your battery than is normally used.
9. Most antiviruses don't work
Unfortunately this information is not a myth. All this fear around mobile viruses has created a very large market for companies willing to sell software promising easy protection for their customers.
A true antivirus cannot be produced for current operating systems given the SDK (software development kits) and types of permissions and access for the developer companies. To detect and kill real viruses, software would need to be run as a root process on the system, something that is simply not possible on Android and iOS. At best, these programs function as signature checkers, which monitor installed packages closely for any code errors or suspicious lines.
Even traditional companies, like Norton, suffer from “antiviruses” that install dozens of unnecessary apps that don't help much, so most of the time it's better to avoid installing this type of application.
10. Some Defense Apps Really Help
Not all companies are malicious in this field of cell phone security. Some lightweight, free apps, like 360 Mobile Security and Avast, focus on what matters most: scanning for malicious code, keeping an eye out for holes in the operating system, and most importantly, making your phone work more smoothly. optimized.
These software will scan applications before you download them, will check the different URLs accessed by your browser and generally work as a preventive wall so that your system is not attacked. When choosing a good protection software, do the same as we recommend when you are interested in a suspicious app and research it intensively. Read the reviews in the store, then go to Google and see more complete reviews from different users.
English 
Portuguese 
Spanish