eli5: Why do computer operating systems have lots of viruses and phone operating systems don’t?
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Phone operating systems are largely designed to assume the user is not experienced with setting up or securing an operating system. This is done in a way that is not at all friendly to business or advanced users. Any app software runs in a sandbox, but they have a lot of freedom inside the sandbox to collect and farm data.
Like you may hear people from google and apple talk about privacy, but they never include themselves. They are the primary digital stalkers farming and selling everything they collect. From that perspective, they are the final alpha boss virus.
Smartphones OSs are relatively new, and we have learned *a lot* about security and OS design in general.
Desktop OSs are stuck with design decisions made literally decades ago, when only 100 people even had computers and security wasn’t something people worried about.
They also can’t change those things, as that would break so many applications.
There are basically 3 major ‘computer’ operating systems that most people might encounter today. MacOS and Linux are based on UNIX which goes back to the late 1960s and was originally made for big room-sized computers shared by many people. This means that there are some fundamental restrictions about what an ordinary user can do that might affect other users or the system as a whole. Windows came along later and a lot of design decisions were made to be deliberately opposite to UNIX. Windows was also based around the idea of a single computer per user who could do anything on the system- security features were ‘added later’. Windows has also always made huge efforts to be backwards compatible with older software on newer versions than other systems.
Most phones are either Android (Linux based) or iPhone (essentially MacOS based)- both UNIX. They also benefit from nearly 50 years’ experience securing UNIX computers in other environments and not having to be compatible with other/older software. As others have pointed out, applications are typically installed from a central app store where they can be scanned by the manufacturer. Both iPhone and Android now have tight permissions at an app level that were never thought of decades ago – think permissions for notifications, for microphone etc.
Fundamentally mobile phones are based on a more secure system, with decades of experience in securing that system and not having to support apps and uses that make it insecure. Most computers you encounter don’t have all of these advantages.
There are basically 3 major ‘computer’ operating systems that most people might encounter today. MacOS and Linux are based on UNIX which goes back to the late 1960s and was originally made for big room-sized computers shared by many people. This means that there are some fundamental restrictions about what an ordinary user can do that might affect other users or the system as a whole. Windows came along later and a lot of design decisions were made to be deliberately opposite to UNIX. Windows was also based around the idea of a single computer per user who could do anything on the system- security features were ‘added later’. Windows has also always made huge efforts to be backwards compatible with older software on newer versions than other systems.
Most phones are either Android (Linux based) or iPhone (essentially MacOS based)- both UNIX. They also benefit from nearly 50 years’ experience securing UNIX computers in other environments and not having to be compatible with other/older software. As others have pointed out, applications are typically installed from a central app store where they can be scanned by the manufacturer. Both iPhone and Android now have tight permissions at an app level that were never thought of decades ago – think permissions for notifications, for microphone etc.
Fundamentally mobile phones are based on a more secure system, with decades of experience in securing that system and not having to support apps and uses that make it insecure. Most computers you encounter don’t have all of these advantages.
How would you like it if the only app you can download on your computer has to come from the Microsoft store? And every game you buy, the developer needs to pay 30% to Microsoft?
Well that’s how iOS works, they lock down the way to get apps and make it hard for users to get tricked into downloading viruses/scam apps. Even if they do, there are a lot of restrictions on what the app can do to the device, all those annoying permission dialogues means the user can’t accidentally let an app become a keylogger.
On Android, you can indeed sideload apps to your heart’s content, but you need to turn it on yourself, and it still limits what apps can do to the OS without getting past the bootloader. Though it is way easier than iOS and Android viruses are definitely around.
Whereas on a desktop OS, we tend to expect that we can install anything we want from anybody, paying them without a third party. That lack of regulation is great for power users who want to do anything, but at the cost of making the average user be susceptible to dangers.
Newer desktop OS are starting to lock down permissions, at least privacy concerns like location, microphone, camera permissions.
How would you like it if the only app you can download on your computer has to come from the Microsoft store? And every game you buy, the developer needs to pay 30% to Microsoft?
Well that’s how iOS works, they lock down the way to get apps and make it hard for users to get tricked into downloading viruses/scam apps. Even if they do, there are a lot of restrictions on what the app can do to the device, all those annoying permission dialogues means the user can’t accidentally let an app become a keylogger.
On Android, you can indeed sideload apps to your heart’s content, but you need to turn it on yourself, and it still limits what apps can do to the OS without getting past the bootloader. Though it is way easier than iOS and Android viruses are definitely around.
Whereas on a desktop OS, we tend to expect that we can install anything we want from anybody, paying them without a third party. That lack of regulation is great for power users who want to do anything, but at the cost of making the average user be susceptible to dangers.
Newer desktop OS are starting to lock down permissions, at least privacy concerns like location, microphone, camera permissions.
There are basically 3 major ‘computer’ operating systems that most people might encounter today. MacOS and Linux are based on UNIX which goes back to the late 1960s and was originally made for big room-sized computers shared by many people. This means that there are some fundamental restrictions about what an ordinary user can do that might affect other users or the system as a whole. Windows came along later and a lot of design decisions were made to be deliberately opposite to UNIX. Windows was also based around the idea of a single computer per user who could do anything on the system- security features were ‘added later’. Windows has also always made huge efforts to be backwards compatible with older software on newer versions than other systems.
Most phones are either Android (Linux based) or iPhone (essentially MacOS based)- both UNIX. They also benefit from nearly 50 years’ experience securing UNIX computers in other environments and not having to be compatible with other/older software. As others have pointed out, applications are typically installed from a central app store where they can be scanned by the manufacturer. Both iPhone and Android now have tight permissions at an app level that were never thought of decades ago – think permissions for notifications, for microphone etc.
Fundamentally mobile phones are based on a more secure system, with decades of experience in securing that system and not having to support apps and uses that make it insecure. Most computers you encounter don’t have all of these advantages.
How would you like it if the only app you can download on your computer has to come from the Microsoft store? And every game you buy, the developer needs to pay 30% to Microsoft?
Well that’s how iOS works, they lock down the way to get apps and make it hard for users to get tricked into downloading viruses/scam apps. Even if they do, there are a lot of restrictions on what the app can do to the device, all those annoying permission dialogues means the user can’t accidentally let an app become a keylogger.
On Android, you can indeed sideload apps to your heart’s content, but you need to turn it on yourself, and it still limits what apps can do to the OS without getting past the bootloader. Though it is way easier than iOS and Android viruses are definitely around.
Whereas on a desktop OS, we tend to expect that we can install anything we want from anybody, paying them without a third party. That lack of regulation is great for power users who want to do anything, but at the cost of making the average user be susceptible to dangers.
Newer desktop OS are starting to lock down permissions, at least privacy concerns like location, microphone, camera permissions.
To give another angle that I don’t think anyone has covered yet– any platform can be exploited with malware, since all software has potential vulnerabilities. Most malicious actors are financially motivated. So for them it’s a question of a) are there enough users on the platform for me to victimize and b) is there enough benefit for me to invest the time and effort doing vulnerability research and exploit development.
To give another angle that I don’t think anyone has covered yet– any platform can be exploited with malware, since all software has potential vulnerabilities. Most malicious actors are financially motivated. So for them it’s a question of a) are there enough users on the platform for me to victimize and b) is there enough benefit for me to invest the time and effort doing vulnerability research and exploit development.
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