[coffee (OP)]

Hi,

I have a new android tablet computer but I can't see any antivirus on it, so does it need to install antivirus software?

[chris]

The android operating system is a form of linux; while this OS does not fall prey to malicious software as readily as Microsoft products (I'm look at you Windows!), it is not invulnerable. Antivirus apps are available for android platforms and can be useful. There are malicious apps out there, although many of them would not be stopped by an antivirus package because they often rely on people voluntarily granting permissions to the app to use various functions on the phone or tablet. A good example is one of the "spotlight" applications that enabled you to use your phone as a torch. In some cases the app was also listening in to the microphone, even when you were not making a call. Ditto the camera.

The best way to stay safe is just to not install any of these things unless you absolutely need to, and then only use apps that have a strong track record, come from reputable sources and have been tested by multiple users.

[coffee (OP)]

Thank you for your help chris

[pradeepkumar]

It is good to have an anti-virus software installed in your system although Android OS is not that vulnerable. It is a precautionary action.

[coffee (OP)]

Thank you for for your help pradeepkumar.

[CristinaFinn]

Personally, I'm with the "you don't need anti-virus, just be smart" crowd. But there isn't anything wrong with putting a trusted service on your device, especially if it's free. I have two AV apps on my Droid DNA right now Bitdefender and Norton [nofollow] that I'm trying to decide which I like more. Not because I feel I need it, but because there's nothing wrong with having that extra security.

For anyone who says they just take up memory... So what! Phones these days come with uber amounts of RAM and Android is designed to use a certain amount of it no matter what's installed on your phone. Unless you're a "power user," having extra memory is a joke. The only apps I just don't use are auto task killers. With android, they are pointless.

[glasco61]

There were reports earlier in the year of Android devices being hijacked for crypto-mining by malicious Ads in Apps.

While some might say using Google Play Store mitigates this risk, I would point you to the reports of Apple's store distributing malware in the past.

Yes, very, very rare. But *it does happen*. Nothing is completely invulnerable these days and sometimes being smart may not be enough. So, be sure by using reputable security software.