Android Malware: The robot can be infected.

By popular demand, finally a blog post about Android malware.

Some people say it can't be done, some say it's a plot by antivirus companies to sell you protection that does not do anything at all. But make no mistake, there is malware lurking on a platform that Mac users and Windows users alike use: The Android on your phone.

Smartphones have dominated the phone market these days, and while Apple holds a death grip on quite a chunk of the market, there are some people who want to be able to do stuff like say, download from anywhere, not just from one phone app market. But this leads to trouble on this platform, because where there's a way, there's a will for malware writers to take advantage. This means that your cell phone could be infected with malware, and you may not even know it.

For most Android malware, the con is the same. A website you go to while surfing the internet convinces you to install an app that you may want or need. Sometimes if you take a look, the websites offering these apps look a bit suspicious, but there is nothing that really trips your bull monitor. So you download the app, if you read the permissions that the app asks for when you install it, they may look a little odd to you. For example, let's say you download an app called "Christmas Carols" because you want to feel a little merry right now. But when you go to install it, it asks for permission to read your text messages and make calls. Does this sound funny to you?

Some malware for the Android platform downloads and installs itself silently, so you do not know it is there. But it is there, recording your phone calls, reading your text messages, and doing everything else you would expect malware to be able to do.

I close with a summation: There is malware for the Android platform, and the more popular the platform gets, the better the odds are it can happen to you.

Thanks for reading, I hope my first post about Android malware looks alright. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment below