“A large part of the ongoing battle to keep a mobile device secure is to ensure that users’ devices are kept up to date with patches for exploits, bug fixes, and keeping the software secure; then the latest numbers from the two main platforms show a huge chasm in the protection offered,” Ewan Spence writes for Forbes.
“Apple’s own numbers show that 84 percent of active iOS devices are using the latest version of the mobile operating system,” Spence writes. “Meanwhile Google released its annual security report last week and included details on the update rates of Android OS… Thirty percent of active Android devices are running Android versions that are older than Android 4.4.4, the lowest version number that receives security updates.”
“This goes hand-in-hand with Google’s own monthly updates of the market share for Android devices, which currently shows the latest major version number of Android (v6.x Lollipop [sic]) is running on just 4.6 percent of active Android devices visiting the Google Play Store,” Spence writes. “Android devices are more vulnerable for longer periods than iOS devices when exploits are discovered.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The poor man’s iPhone is a stagnant cesspool.
SEE ALSO:
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Apple issues iPhone manifesto; blasts Android’s lack of updates, lack of privacy, rampant malware – August 10, 2015
New Android malware strains to top 2 million by end of 2015 – July 1, 2015
Symantec: 1 in 5 Android apps is malware – April 25, 2015
Kaspersky Lab Director: Over 98% of mobile malware targets Android because it’s much, much easier to exploit than iOS – January 15, 2015
Security experts: Malware spreading to millions on Android phones – November 21, 2014
There’s practically no iOS malware, thanks to Apple’s smart control over app distribution – June 13, 2014
F-Secure: Android accounted for 99% of new mobile malware in Q1 2014 – April 30, 2014
Google’s Sundar Pichai: Android not designed to be safe; if I wrote malware, I’d target Android, too – February 27, 2014
Cisco: Android the target of 99 percent of world’s mobile malware – January 17, 2014
U.S. DHS, FBI warn of malware threats to Android mobile devices – August 27, 2013
Android app malware rates skyrocket 40 percent in last quarter – August 7, 2013
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Mobile Threats Report: Android accounts for 92% of all mobile malware – June 26, 2013
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Mobile malware exploding, but only for Android – May 14, 2013
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F-Secure: Android accounted for 96% of all mobile malware in Q4 2012 – March 7, 2013
New malware attacks Android phones, Windows PCs to eavesdrop, steal data; iPhone, Mac users unaffected – February 4, 2013