Malwarebytes for Android

[buzzy]

I have just noticed on my laptop that MBAM for Android is now available.

Is it necessary for Smartphones and if so, how does one install this please?

[merchant42]

Most Android phones are based on Linux, so I would imagine that it would not be necessary to install it

[buzzy]

Thanks Mechant.

One learns something new every day but why do Malwarebytes advertise this then?

[vikingken]

Linux was only safe because only a minority used it and most business computers were Windows. Now with everybody using smart phones and tablets, the situation is becoming reversed. Most of the people who write nasties, only want to attack where they can do the most damage and there is no financial angle. There are more and more viruses being written for phones now. They are working on viruses that can cross from Linux to Windows and back, but I dont know how successful they are. It wont take long though, these people are warped not stupid. There are people who say it cant be done, but technically a Bumble Bee cant fly.

[johnnybee]

Broadly I'd agree with that Ken; however most "mainframes" are still run on Unix, which is a different ballgame altogether.
Whether that's easier to hack than any other system is unclear to me; that said, over 20% of business servers have used RHL for years now, and I'd have thought that if any bozo wanted to cause mayhem, that would have been the way to go about it. It didn't happen - well not noticeably so over the past fifteen years, so I can only conclude that the geeky community were targetting home PC's in the hope of phishing folks' personal details, credit card PINs and the like.
I confess I know little about Android or the latest edition of Apple's OS, but given their recent increase in popularity - and people's increased reliance on the hardware - the hackers will get wise to ways of doing the same sort of thing with them that they did with Windows.
With all this paranoia about security on ANY system, it seems to me that the more doors and windows you lock - passwords, etc - the less useful it becomes to the genuine user; who wants to enter a PW every time you make a change to the system or write an email?
Surely it wouldn't be beyond the wit of the codewriters to come up with a sliding system of encryption that is both user AND time specific - something like the Enigma coding they used sixty years ago? All of this could be built into the OS itself, using date/time as one parameter, MAC address for another and the user entry password as a third; going one stage further, you could integrate an random password generator once the basic three have been verified, giving another level of security against unauthorised access without the user having to tap a key - it would all be automatic.
Thoughts, mate?

[vikingken]

I dont lock my phone John and I dont actually know anyone that does, they all want their contacts a click away. Email boxes are password protected anyway. Texts are the order of the day for the UK, when on the hoof. Emails are for overseas, done at home on the big keyboard. I know some people use their phones for Facebook, but I think thats getting pretty desperate and they are the ones that get ripped off. I think more people suffer ID theft from phones than computers. People who have no interest in computers, use phones and have no idea about the safety protocols which apply to both. 

[buzzy]

Thanks guys, but my main concern is, should I add MBAM for Android to my 'phone and if so how, from my installation on my PC's?

[vikingken]

I haven't got an Android phone Buzz, but I presume you download it from the App Store. You could download it to your PC and transfer the .exe file over to the phone, but it would be quicker and easier to do it direct.

[buzzy]

Right - thanks Ken.

[vikingken]

Your welcome Buzz