Android is being portrayed as the smartphone operating system for those that like to push boundaries, be their own people and not conform to the usual rules, and there may be some truth to that if a recent report about how they treat security is anything to go by.
A new study to come out of Websense suggest that those packing Android smarpthones are not as security conscious as their Apple-toting counterparts – a fact that we could probably have come up with ourselves. Websense have actually done the leg work, though, and even pushed out a nicely colored chart to illustrate the point!
The information gleaned from the report may actually give an insight into the people that are buying certain devices rather than the software itself. According to the report, Android owners are more likely to dabble in the dark arts, or ‘questionable’ activities.
What activities are questionable? Glad you asked.
Android owners seem to be more interested in searching for information on working around things, using peer-to-peer downloading applications and other possibly nefarious deeds rather than playing, say, Angry Birds.
When it comes to apps, iPhone owners are quite happy to get theirs from the App Store, while Android owners are using workarounds to simply grab hold of free stuff from whatever source they can get hold of. Anything to avoid paying for them, right?
Now, far be it from us to rain on Websense’s parade, but is the fact that Apple’s iPhone is so locked down perhaps the reason that iPhone owners use the App Store? If you don’t have an alternative, of course that is where you will get apps from. Yes, you can jailbreak – and we’re certainly not condoning piracy here, devs deserve your money people – but the number of people using jailbroken devices is pretty slim.
With Android users seemingly happy to get their apps from anywhere, the inevitable security risk crops up – if users who may not know the risks are downloading apps from all over the internet, God knows what is running on the millions of handsets that are out there.
The argument between closed ecosystems and open ones will always rage, but when it comes to security few can argue against Apple’s model.
Unless you’re holding an Android phone, of course.
(via Neowin)
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