Google is adamant that Android-powered devices are safe despite being targeted by more potentially damaging apps than ever before in 2015.
The company claims it significantly reduced the number of malicious apps installed on Android systems to the point that only 0.15 percent of total smartphones and tablets had what is termed as a Potentially Harmful Application (PHA) installed.
And Google says that even if you include all devices using Google’s services (aka devices that install apps from both Google Play and other, third-party sources), this figure is still only 0.5 percent.
This includes the 200,000 owners Google helped protect when their device was lost or stolen using its Android Device Manager service, and the Lock and Wipe function when things get drastic.
The figures were disclosed in Google’s second annual Android Security Report, which covers the myriad of threats targeting the company’s mobile software.
This year’s report was the first to include data from the latest version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow, which included several new security functions including mandatory full disc encryption. The software also allowed mobile devices with a fingerprint scanner to support Android
It also brought in improvements to the Verify Apps function, which prompts users before installing any app downloaded from Google Play on their Android device. Apparently minor changes such as adding in a red exclamation mark on the download page helped reduce installation of PHAs by 50 percent, Google said.
“Android has multiple layers of security technology in place to protect our users,” Google claimed. “In 2015, we improved our security technology, our understanding of the threats that the ecosystem faces, and our ability to respond to those threats. Android continues to advance the state of security, while protecting our users.”
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At least Google is trying to do something about Malware. It's bad enough that on desktops and computers you have to be so careful what you install. Nowadays you have to be careful what apps you install.... even on your mobile device. Any extra layer of security Google implements can't hurt in my opinion and I hope they continue to take it more seriously.