A friend of mine recently downloaded a free app which he thought was an anti-virus. The app continuously nagged him to pay for it every few minutes. He tried to uninstall it but could not. So, he downloaded Avast which upon installation, identified the app he thought was an anti-virus as a virus. So how do you guys know that the app you're downloading isn't infected? Should you scan it first before installing?
I always read reviews first, even for the free apps. I'm not technical enough to know the insides of software, so I read the opinions of those that do. Just recently, the top app in the AppStore, was an antivirus that did nothing. Yup, you read that right, it did nothing! Yet people payed (it was cheap) because of the fake reviews it had. Since then it was taken out from the store but it stands to show how gullible people really are.
Very true. Most people who have smart phones don't exactly pay too much attention to what they're doing. For some reason, people tend to just download on the spot and not do some research. It takes only a little time to get an idea of what's worth your time or dangerous. On that note, I agree with your way of analyzing an app. For one, my last two phones have come with anti-virus already activated on the phone (S4 and now S5) and it works rather well. When it comes to fake reviews, they're usually painfully auto-generated or follow an unusually high rating pattern. You'll see two things that set off a red flag: 1) Many ratings are consistently 5 stars with NO comments included. 2) The comments sound ridiculous when you read it outloud. Usually really bad English or overally exaggerated comments "This is the BEST app I have ever used!" and you'll see comments like that for even a calculator app. Lol. No reason to get that excited. People are always taking advantage of others...
I often do a lil bit of researching when I'm looking for an App to fulfill a certain need I have. See what has the best reviews on different sites, FORUMS HELP A LOT. Also suspect ANYTHING that has the word "FREE" painted all over the place. If it's a good app people download it without the need to be constantly reminded that it's free to get their attention.
Well, if you're anti-virus goes off then there you go. But if you don't have one, then I guess just check on the app itself, does it look like a legit app or does it look like something a five year old can do in ten minutes? Also, if that app installs any additional apps on your phone or slows down your phone then you might have to consider uninstalling it.
I just read reviews first, and I read a lot of them thoroughly. I rarely ever download apps without a few reviews, but in general, I just choose to trust the app store anyway. I never even knew that virus programs could get through quality check. I imagine Google/Apple/Windows would have a more rigid quality checking system in place. Anyway, I think reviews are the best way to go in this situation since you'd most definitely see complaints if the program were faulty.
That's another reason why I shouldn't download just any app then, because it might contain a virus. I think to avoid being infected then we should really have a good anti-virus installed and only download the very popular apps so that we know that it's not harmful.
The best thing to do is Google the program and look at the reviews. Chances are someone else has had the same concern and there are likely posts about app safety online.
I haven't installed an app that has ever damaged my phone. What do I do? I just download apps that have a rating of 4 and above from users and I also look into the number of users who have downloaded the app and the number of users who have rated the app. If I only see one user rated the app, I'd stay away. I want to only download apps that have already been tested by a lot of users. Also, do not download apps from unknown sources if you really want to be safe.
Read the reviews! There are almost always reviews that tell you how great or bad an app is, especially on iTunes. iTunes is great because you can see the ratings, as well as the reviews. A bad thing about reviews is that it is heavily biased. An individual is more likely inclined to leave a review if he or she was disappointed or cheated, rather than pleased.
I'm using android myself and only download apps from the google play store and only after reading the reviews posted in the store page. I believe the apps are vetted in the play store as well as itunes store so there's at least one layer of defence against malware. I wouldn't trust an app that's just downloaded off the net though - if these developers can't get into the official stores then there's probably a good reason why. Imo, I believe there's a tendency of impulse clicking with mobile phone users which make us more regulars users more susceptible to these kind of problems than if we were using a computer.
Don't trust the reviews entirely. If someone was able to create a malicious app, most likely they would be able to make and upvote a couple of good reviews too. I usually look at what permissions the app needs, if it wants to take a total control over my phone, I Google its name and read opinions from other people.
Agreed with everyone else on this topic. Spending a quick 5 minutes reading the reviews on the app will give you a pretty good impression of everything you need to know with the app. Also, make sure you're downloading the app from a reputable source. Generally, places like Itunes and the google app store don't allow virus apps to be posted. Or if they are, they're going to have a really bad reputation and rating. Keeping an anti-virus program active is always something important to have and keep updated to catch any bad programs like the one you downloaded.
I normally go through the reviews first before downloading anything and if there's more bad reviews than the good ones, i don't download the app. Other times i would google the app and see if it's legit. It's just so easy to put things online now claiming they're useful or a great app but ends up harming your phone. Not really worth it. So it's best to read the reviews first before doing a download.
A nice guideline would be to look at the permissions required by the app. If it requires suspicious permissions, like your location / phone number, more research is definitely warranted in checking what the app actually does with such sensitive data.
How I review apps before downloading them. First, I check for the year it was published. If it was published this year and is already version 8 or 9, then I may not download the app. Sounds like it's going to demand a lot of updating and memory. And then check the version of the app and see the developer's website or other apps from the same developer. It could give you a sense of how the app is going to be performing. Read the about us section to find out if it's already launched openly or still in development. There would be a sign saying that the app is still in Beta testing or Alpha stage. Find out what its users are saying about the apps in the app store. In addition, look for information in the news about the app.
I honestly am pretty clueless in this area. So far I haven't encountered a dangerous or say, a malware app. The apps I downloaded through Google Play were all legit so there was no impediment whatsoever to my user experience. I simply uninstalled the app that didn't meet my expectations and I had no problem with that too. As suggested above, you need to read the reviews as well. The reviews and ratings will help you gauge an app's quality.
I'm brilliant when it comes to the internet, and knowing whether or not files or websites are safe for me. But when it comes to Androids and Google Play Store, I have no idea what to look for, except for a poorly written summary about the application, from the developers, bad reviews from users who have previously installed the application, and the permissions that the applications can access on your device. I also have an anti-virus application installed on my Android, so that will kick up if something is wrong. Well, I'd hope that it would.
Well, to be honest, you should not really need an antivirus program for android. The apps in play store are mostly safe, but there are some apps which raise suspicion. 1. Read reviews. I know reviews are misleading a lot of times, but it doesn't do any harm to know what others think about the app you are going to install. 2. The most important: Check permissions (for god's sake). I know the permissions at first may look gibberish to you, but android is quite awesome when it comes to permissions. An app developer is required to post what permissions his app is using. So take your time and learn more about permissions. Nothing is actually hidden from you. Just be aware.
I rely mostly on the antivirus and the permissions the app needs. Sometimes I also read the reviews the app has, but that's mostly when I'm unsure about the usefulness of the app. Fake reviews are something that happen from time to time, after all. So far, no virus has sneaked onto my tablet/smartphone.
