larrylarry
Active Member
I have a new iPad that I got for Christmas, do I need anti virus for it ? All my previous iPhones never had virus protection.
Anti virus for my iPad?
- Thread starter larrylarry
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Silentnet
Super Member
You know practically nothing about me, I know almost nothing about you, and despite this I can almost guarantee, based on what little I've seen you post, that I'm better qualified to answer this question than you.
Can any reasonable complex computer (up to and including Android and iOS devices) get a virus? Yes. Are they likely to unless the user does something incredibly stupid or is highly unlucky? No.
Most Android and iOS antivirus software does absolutely nothing, or presents false positives in hopes of obtaining more money from the user. I'm not saying that's what they all do, but it's out there. Also, Apple and Google are making a concerted effort everyday to avoid virus laden software making its way to their various app stores. They are in a far better position to address and avoid these threats then you or I.
I'm not saying to trust in our benevolent overlords, but that your phone's at-the-end-of-the-day pathetic quad-core already has more than enough to deal wi
Last edited:
larrylarry
Active Member
Ok.....
I have a cheap Kindle pad that got a virus. I was able to download some free anti virus on to it & it never detected the virus. Ended up having to whip everything off & going to factory default that took care of it.
I have a cheap Kindle pad that got a virus. I was able to download some free anti virus on to it & it never detected the virus. Ended up having to whip everything off & going to factory default that took care of it.
willyrover
Super Member
No. You don't. And I am not aware of any "anti-virus" software (app?) available for it.
larrylarry
Active Member
Thanks for the info.
70's Rockfan
Rough N Ready
this explains it pretty well.
https://www.lifewire.com/does-ipad-virus-exist-1994321
https://www.lifewire.com/does-ipad-virus-exist-1994321
larrylarry
Active Member
One pixel thanks for the info.
Chris Brown
Super Member
These days "Anti-Virus" and "Anti-Malware" is often the junk that you have to be wary of. The vast majority of these programs simply take advantage of user's worries, but do almost nothing when it comes to actually protecting them. Instead, the programs serve to:
1. Display advertisements.
2. Collect information/telemetry about you and your device which they then sell.
3. Pester you to upgrade the program to a non-free version, more expensive & unnecessary features, renew subscription, etc.
4. Present false-positives, or sometimes show you things that are real but not necessarily relevant or a threat, display them to you in a way that makes you believe the app is doing a great job and super important.
It's amazing how many computers and devices I clean up these days that aren't actually infected with anything, but ended up with several of these junk apps/programs on them that needed cleaning off. It's nice how much cleaner of an experience it is once the programs get removed.
Most phones and tablets give apps very limited access to the device itself. Apps are actually fairly limited to what they can do to the underlying device compared to a program on a computer. That is sort of the basis behind why many claim the Chromebook is safer than a traditional Laptop, because it operates the same way. You can't simply install anything you want on it, you can only install apps from an app store and those apps are limited in what they can do. So while I do believe it's important to have at least some Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware on a traditional PC (even if it's just updated Windows Defender), I don't believe it's really necessary on a phone or a tablet. Nothing is installing itself on these devices, and if you are installing really odd apps from the app store on your own device, then simply uninstall any app that you don't use and/or that might seem suspicious.
1. Display advertisements.
2. Collect information/telemetry about you and your device which they then sell.
3. Pester you to upgrade the program to a non-free version, more expensive & unnecessary features, renew subscription, etc.
4. Present false-positives, or sometimes show you things that are real but not necessarily relevant or a threat, display them to you in a way that makes you believe the app is doing a great job and super important.
It's amazing how many computers and devices I clean up these days that aren't actually infected with anything, but ended up with several of these junk apps/programs on them that needed cleaning off. It's nice how much cleaner of an experience it is once the programs get removed.
Most phones and tablets give apps very limited access to the device itself. Apps are actually fairly limited to what they can do to the underlying device compared to a program on a computer. That is sort of the basis behind why many claim the Chromebook is safer than a traditional Laptop, because it operates the same way. You can't simply install anything you want on it, you can only install apps from an app store and those apps are limited in what they can do. So while I do believe it's important to have at least some Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware on a traditional PC (even if it's just updated Windows Defender), I don't believe it's really necessary on a phone or a tablet. Nothing is installing itself on these devices, and if you are installing really odd apps from the app store on your own device, then simply uninstall any app that you don't use and/or that might seem suspicious.
Similar threads
