Here’s Why You Don’t Need to Install an Antivirus on Your Phone!

Years ago the first thing you needed to load on a brand new computer was anti-virus and malware applications. The internet was a mine field of malicious content that could infect your entire home network with one wrong click. Yet things have changed dramatically. We’ve been focusing on the importance of antivirus software, but times are changing and though previously many of the computing tasks took place on a desktop system, now they take place on a phone or tablet.

In almost all cases, Android phones and tablets do not need antivirus to be installed. Android viruses are not as prevalent as you have been compelled to believe since years, and your device is much more at risk of theft than it is of a virus. But it is true: Android viruses do exist.

The vast majority of known Android viruses have been installed on the back of dubious apps – apps you will no longer find in the Google Play store. By default, Android does not allow you to install apps from other sources, so there’s no chance of you accidentally installing something malicious.

Some of the smartness can help you cope with the viruses and their issues without actually installing a heavy antivirus in your Android smartphones. Supposing a dodgy app does find its way into the Google Play market, Google will quickly pull the app and uninstall it from your device. If you are installing apps outside of Google Play, taking other precautions can be a way to safeguard your device from Android viruses. Such precautions include carefully checking any requested permissions before agreeing to them, avoiding cloned apps and keeping Android up to date.

Supposing your Android phone or tablets does start acting oddly and you know it’s because of malware, a factory reset is all that’s required to get it back to normal.

Disabling the ability of your phone to install apps from unknown sources, and keeping your operating system updated can help you save your device from viruses, without actually installing an antivirus.