— Garfty

The trouble with the smartphone generation is that no matter what we do, there is always that threat of unauthorised access to your data. There’s not much we can do about it, other than downloading the official security apps, and being vigilant with safe guarding our device.

Which operating system is the most targeted though? Whether you buy the iOS powered iPhone from the Apple store, or the Android Samsung Galaxy S3 from O2, which one is the most likely to attract grief for you? The answer is your Android device, because sadly, it is the most popular OP. Therefore it would be more worth a hackers while to target it.

Here are some things to bear in mind about your devices, whether they use the iOS, Symbian, Windows Phone or Android operating systems:

- The highest levels of new malware are spotted on Android mobile devices. From 2010 – 2012, there has been a sharp increase. Especially since January 2012.

- The malware that is being found on all mobile operating systems can do as little as sign you up for a subscription, to as bad as recording your phone calls and giving your details away without your prior knowledge.

- The malware on Android in particular is distributed most commonly as a trojan which can be downloaded from unofficial sites posing as Google Play, or simply claiming legitimacy.

- You are less likely to have an issue with an iPhone because Apple are so vigilant with security and the design of their products. However accidents do happen. Don’t buy off of sites that aren’t iTunes or Apple affiliated.

- The culprits behind viruses, trojans and malware don’t often get caught, because they use software that block any traces back to their computer systems throwing them off. Hence why so many people are getting involved.