Android is taking a lot of heat off the Windows operating system, thanks to so many Android users using outdated versions of the operating system, or so says the U.S. Government.
A few years ago, Windows was the preferred target of miscreants seeking to trick users into installing malware, now it appears with hundreds of millions of Android smartphones and tablets in use, hackers and misanthropes have a whole new world to infect.
If you’re interested, here’s an article detailing Android’s vulnerabilities:
“US government says Android is a malware magnet thanks to OS fragmentation
Android’s persistent fragmentation problem isn’t just a Google problem, but a federal government concern too. A new study issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says that Android devices expose US agencies to a significantly greater malware threat in large part because so many devices run outdated versions of the mobile OS. Of the malicious attacks documented in the study, 79 percent took place on an Android device. Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS received just 0.7 percent of the recorded malware threats.
In addition to fragmentation, the fact that Android is the most widely used mobile OS on the planet also makes it a target for hackers, the DHS and FBI say. About half of the malware threats Android devices encountered in the study — which is based off of data collected in 2012 — came by way text messages that installed attacking apps, the agencies A DOWNSIDE FOR OUTDATED ANDROIDSsay. Neither organization went so far as to say that Android devices shouldn’t be used…”
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