14 DAY TRIAL // No electronic device is secure enough these days, even though companies invest quite a lot of money in security solutions meant to make their products impregnable to hacking. Security is also the main topic that Android and iOS fans usually like to debate.
Many security experts claim Android OS is a mess when it comes to security, but Google took huge steps towards improving privacy and security on devices that run its mobile platform.
The search giant now provides handset makers with monthly security updates that patch discovered bugs and issues that could be exploited if not addressed.
On the other hand, the iOS ecosystem is more secure, but less customizable and open for developers. The bottom line is you can't have the best of both worlds yet, though Google claims that Android will soon have much more to offer than Apple's iOS.
During an interview after a talk at a security conference, Adrian Ludwig, director of security at Android, said that “for sure” a Google Pixel and an iPhone are about the same when it comes to security.
He went on to say that Android will soon be better, though: “In the long term, the open ecosystem of Android is going to put it in a much better place.”
Safety Net limits the number of infected Android devices to less than 1%
According to Ludwig, Android's built-in security solution called “Safety Net” is now scanning 400 million devices per day. Moreover, the product can check no less than 6 billion apps per day, which is quite an achievement.
Thanks to “Safety Net,” the number of Android devices that have malware is very small nowadays, Ludwig claims. According to him, less than 1% of Android smartphones are affected by PHA (Potentially Harmful Applications), which is hard to believe though.
One other piece of good news that Ludwig was kind to share is that Android is now secure enough that it's close to impossible for someone to target a large number of people with malware at the same time.