Tablet Security

Gadgetman496

Sister rang me this evening, she bought a tablet for her daughter for Christmas (ASUS I think from Curry's\PCWorld. Anyway, she said she got some security\antivirus Prog thrown in and wants it installed. I know nothing about tablets really, so am wondering what she might be talking about? She said she thinks she got a disc but that can't be right? Could it have been a code or something for use in the App store? or can anyone tell me what she might have been given and how it gets installed?

invaderzimirl

most likely the TOOL in Curry's\PCWorld sold her somwthing that cant be used on here system as they only care about their mulitable sales per customer

Gadgetman496

invaderzimirl wrote: »

most likely the TOOL in Curry's\PCWorld sold her somwthing that cant be used on here system as they only care about their mulitable sales per customer

Could well be, just like the way they try to push Norton or McAfee on anyone buying a laptop or desktop.

I'm I correct in assuming for a tablet that you would install something like AVG via the App Store or what would be recommended?

ED E

Is it a win8 tab perhaps? Then you could download the installer and use the licence key from the box.

If its android go fling the box back at that salesperson and get their money back.

Gadgetman496

ED E wrote: »

Is it a win8 tab perhaps? Then you could download the installer and use the licence key from the box.

If its android go fling the box back at that salesperson and get their money back.

I'm 99% sure it's an Android but I'll know for sure when I call out to her tomorrow.

invaderzimirl

well ill answer it by saying ive had android devices for over 5 years and never used /needed antivirus ok im careful what to click but still use Droid to the fullest it can be (some cant be said here)

9/10 once your careful your ok

but thats only my POV id like to think otheres would agree

Overheal

While it's easy to suggest that "Tools" simply gave someone something free to try to boost monthly P&L (can't hurt), that really only works best at the retailer perspective in 2 key places: 1) the initial vendor incentive for attaching the product to the sale, for free, and 2) the potential for customer interest in renewal.

In order to get to step 2, the customer would first have to get past step 1, wouldn't they. Either way, whatever software they gave your sister for free is optional, and free for a certain duration. If she elects not to use it, there is really no harm done.

I won't begin to comment on specific retailers, but let's talk about security.

Do Macs get viruses? Yes. They are however infrequent, rare, and cause little material harm.Do tablets get viruses? Yes. They sure can, especially in the case of Android where you can easily disable the safeties that keep you locked into PlayStore downloads. I can't think of iOS or Windows RT viruses at this time, nor Fire OS, nor Chrome OS.

But the million dollar question: is any browser, at any time, susceptible to displaying a fake website, or phony email? Absolutely. You can still be tricked into "resetting" a password for one of your accounts on your iPhone. You can still be tricked into submitting credit card payment information into a fake webform on a Mac or a google tablet. Phishing attacks do not attack the hardware or the software, they attack the user.

So yes, There is security available for tablets. Including iOS. Products like Webroot SecureAnywhere are available for multiple platforms. On your iPhone for instance, while it doesn't need to offer virus protection it does provide phishing protection in the form of a secured web browser. On android this extends to App scanning, telling you which apps are doing what. Hey, do I need that Flashlight app to have access to my contacts or Google Wallet? Probably not.

Personally, I'm a pretty careful person online but I still run protection software because **** happens. Someone links you to a news article from some no-name journalism site and suddenly you're being alerted to the potential for danger, like fraudulent download links and such. Every once in a while you look through your spam folder and there are some pretty convincing duplicates; in many cases these links redirect you to sites that if not for some obscure typo in the URL would trick most people into thinking it was the genuine article.

Bottom line: if its free, can't hurt to try it. Download instructions are inside the box.