Recently, a study has found that half of Android devices have "unpatched vulnerabilities" that could leave the phone exposed to hacks, viruses, or other unfriendly results.
This doesn't mean half of Android devices are infected. There is an explicit distinction that clarifies the study scanned how vulnerable a phone is to attacks rather than whether or not an attack had taken place. Still, this is a scary number.
It is too easy to think of a phone as just a phone, and not a full computer as it (nearly) is today. We're rather complacent, we have banking apps that automatically log in for us when they're opened. We routinely check stocks or finances, and our address book is filled with personal and contact information for everyone we know.
Of course this convenience is why we love our phones, but just think if a hacker had full remote access of your phone. Set aside the case where you're unable to use your phone or recover your data, which is probably a nightmare for most. What about the hacker that has full control without you ever knowing it? The hacker that quietly collects your passwords and banking information by way of key-logging, or watches your calendar for when you're out of town and your home is unguarded, or any other wildly malicious situation.
The odds of this happening to you? Low. Very low. That doesn't mean it isn't valuable to be cognisant of these issues and proactive in protecting yourself.
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