News - Google’s Android Jelly Bean malware scanner falls very short

[HEXUS]

Offers a "low detection rate of 15.32 per cent" according to a new study.

Read more.

[TheVoice]

"So the answer to the question as to whether Android 4.2 users need third-party security apps remains a resounding yes."

Really? Perhaps I'm just naive, but I can't see any reason to have one unless you go around installing every app without paying attention to rating or reviews.

[edzieba]

Pretty much. Don't Install Sketchy Stuff is the best anti-virus precaution.

[TheVoice]

That said, it is clear that Google need to sort out their own protection; the whole point of an app store surely is that you can trust what's on it. It's better than it used to be, but I still see plenty of garbage on there, apps for Amazon etc, the true intentions of which are rather dubious.

[kopite]

I`m wondering how much of the reason its so low is that they still havent tuned it fully.

People would get really angry if it was the other way around ie Got rid of all malware but got quite a few false positives as well.

[crossy]

Pretty much. Don't Install Sketchy Stuff is the best anti-virus precaution.

I've got the AVG (paid) product on my S3 and to be honest other than the scanner icon popping up whenever I install any app, it's damn near invisible. Given that the AV app wasn't that expensive and also offers remote wipe/tracking features (and yes, I know the S3 has these as well - but I originally had AVG on a phone that didn't) plus SMS scanning/spam-filtering I figure it was worth the money.

As to JB's malware scanner being pants - it's early days for it surely and I seem to remember that Microsoft Security Essentials was also pretty crappy in it's early days. And now MSE seems to be pretty well regarded - e.g. saw a magazine review that recommended NOT getting Norton/McAfee because MSE was "just as good for free".

[hesham1516]

Surely a simple update to the signiture database will fix it, and its far better than nothing at all. I'd give them a few months to fix the problem.