Apple Vs. Android – Which Is More Secure?

Security is a key concern around mobile devices. For individuals and business people, locking down devices so that not much (if anything) can be gotten out of them should they become lost or stolen is a key consideration when choosing between platforms. On a fundamental level, which platform is more secure?

Android Under Attack?

Unlike what some may think, Android is the key focus for attackers. This seems to be because while Apple has control over their own iOS software and can prompt users to update their iOS software installation, Android is not so lucky.

With Android, you're mainly dealing with a group of cellphone manufacturers who place their own self-created (or outsourced) skin software layered over the top of vanilla Android, i.e. TouchWiz on Samsung devices. Because of this, droid users cannot simply opt to upgrade from Android 4.4.2 to 4.5 to get access to the “kill switch” feature.

Instead, they must wait for the Android device manufacturer to get around to updating their skin to make it compatible with the latest version of Android from Google. This can take several months.

Another related teething issue with Android is that it will depend on the device whether it is even capable of running the latest version of Android. Some hardware on more basic models is given older versions of Android for a reason; they're running on single- or dual-core chips with minimal RAM and don't have the horse-power to handle the latest version.

This situation leaves such handset owners unable to access new versions. They may be able to access patches to update their own version of Android, but again that will depend on them being released with an updated skin from the device manufacturer. This leaves Android owners more vulnerable to security exploits from an unpatched operating system.

Apple Has It Easier

In the case of Apple, recent iPhones and iPads are generally able to run new versions of iOS. For older generation iOS devices, they can still receive security patch updates to older iOS versions should that be needed. There is no lag time between a new OS and being able to release it, unlike with Droids.

What Are Cyber Criminals After?

Because of the mobile nature of smartphones and tablets, criminals are found to be mainly targeting banking applications via trojan infections coming in from SMS, email and other methods. These intend to gain control of the device long enough to get into the banking app and syphon off money.

Kaspersky Lab, a Russian security software company, noted in 2013 that malware was often targeting credit card numbers and access to money. These attempts increased by almost 20 times last year.

The above Information comes from Kaspersky Security Bulletin.

Virus and Malware Defense

A good virus package is essential for both Apple and Android users.

Avira have a free iOS app to protect against viruses and malware.

AVG offer the Safe Browser for the iPad which avoids visits to known malware-infected web sites.

For Android, Avast offer a free mobile security package which scans apps individually. This can be done once apps have been downloaded, but not yet run. The Avast Free Mobile Security app also offers anti-theft tracking features, backup, application locking, privacy monitoring, and SMS and call filtering options.

AVG AntiVirus Free and Pro also provide Android virus protection from this well known anti-virus company.