Mobile Malware Targets Android Phones: New Kaspersky Lab Report

Are you a loyal Android fan as we are?

Yes?

Therefore, we have to accepted that malware targeting mobile devices is rapidly growing in both the number of variants found in the wild and in their complexity and sophistication, but the platform being actively targeted is Google's Android, which researchers now say is resembling Windows on thedesktop PC.

Android, the world's most popular smartphone operating system (as Mashable said ), has malware attacks issues.

We knew that already. But a new report suggests these issues are only destined to worsen: according to a new report released by Kaspersky Lab , the 99.9% of new mobile malware detected in the first quarter of 2013 are created to hit Android phones.

Most of them are trojans, types of malware used in many instances and SMS trojans, which steal money by sending unauthorized texts to premium rate numbers.

According to the report, the Top 20 most commonly used malicious or potentially unwanted programs for Android are:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

First place goes to Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakeInst.a (29.45%). This threat targets primarily Russian speaking Internet users attempting to download software for Android devices from dubious sites. Often, cybercriminals use these websites to spread malware under the guise of useful software.

(18.78%), an adware Trojan ranked second. This threat is seen primarily in European countries, where it is used by the developers of free software to monetize products by displaying ads.

Third and fourth place both went to SMS Trojans from the Opfake family: Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Opfake.a (12.23%) and Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Opfake.bo (11.49%). The first modifications of the Opfake family of threats were disguised as the latest version of Opera, a popular mobile browser. Today, the malicious programs in this family are disguised as new versions of other popular apps (Skype, Angry Birds, etc.).

Wondering where all the malware lives? The top three host countries include the United States (25%), Russia (19%), and the Netherlands (14%).

Do you use antivirus software on your Android phone?

If so, which one?

Which android App offers best Malware protection?