eli5: Why do computer operating systems have lots of viruses and phone operating systems don’t?
In: 5085
Phones use CGNAT, therefore direct phone to phone communication is impossible, making virus development worthless.
Also phones are much much less capable than real computers, it’s hard to download a virus when your device almost has no concept of what a file is and wouldn’t let you execute it anyway even if you tried.
Phones use CGNAT, therefore direct phone to phone communication is impossible, making virus development worthless.
Also phones are much much less capable than real computers, it’s hard to download a virus when your device almost has no concept of what a file is and wouldn’t let you execute it anyway even if you tried.
Scammers moved from targeting individuals to targeting corporations because that’s where the money is. Law of averages mean the average Joe isn’t as exposed as before.
Scammers moved from targeting individuals to targeting corporations because that’s where the money is. Law of averages mean the average Joe isn’t as exposed as before.
Because you can only install apps via the phone App Store which is far more secure than the many ways PCs can have apps installed.
Because you can only install apps via the phone App Store which is far more secure than the many ways PCs can have apps installed.
Very short answer is mobile OSs were build with security in mind after the internet was invented (causing the creators to be aware of viruses).
Meanwhile PC OSs were first written 40+years ago before viruses were a thing and due to backwards compatibility (and difficult to rewrite) it’s very hard to completely change how they work.
Very short answer is mobile OSs were build with security in mind after the internet was invented (causing the creators to be aware of viruses).
Meanwhile PC OSs were first written 40+years ago before viruses were a thing and due to backwards compatibility (and difficult to rewrite) it’s very hard to completely change how they work.
Mostly for two reasons:
1. Phones are for most part super restrictive. You can only get apps from a limited number of places and you (the user) do not have rights over a big chunk of what’s installed unless you root the phone.
2. There are other ways to get what they want. If you install an app, let’s say TikTok, it will ask for a lot of permissions and the end user will just grant them. See the Android page for the app: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.zhiliaoapp.musically&hl=en_US&gl=US](https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.zhiliaoapp.musically&hl=en_US&gl=US).
There are lots of permissions listed, and they are a pain in the neck to parse too. You might think you know what “app activity” is, but until you read the developer documentation you don’t know for real. It is a pain to read even if you are a developer (e.g. [https://developer.android.com/reference/packages](https://developer.android.com/reference/packages)).
Even if you know what the permission means, its implementation can be misleading too. I heard an app developer describe their location check as “periodic evaluation of your approximate location”. The thing is that the “period” here was 3x per second. They’d know if you washed your hands after using the toilet.
There is a very believable allegation that Temu (shopping) installs tracking code on your phone, spies on all other apps, and leaves behind the tracking once the app is uninstalled. ([https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html)). That is not called a virus on a phone, but would most certainly be called a virus on a PC.
Mostly for two reasons:
1. Phones are for most part super restrictive. You can only get apps from a limited number of places and you (the user) do not have rights over a big chunk of what’s installed unless you root the phone.
2. There are other ways to get what they want. If you install an app, let’s say TikTok, it will ask for a lot of permissions and the end user will just grant them. See the Android page for the app: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.zhiliaoapp.musically&hl=en_US&gl=US](https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.zhiliaoapp.musically&hl=en_US&gl=US).
There are lots of permissions listed, and they are a pain in the neck to parse too. You might think you know what “app activity” is, but until you read the developer documentation you don’t know for real. It is a pain to read even if you are a developer (e.g. [https://developer.android.com/reference/packages](https://developer.android.com/reference/packages)).
Even if you know what the permission means, its implementation can be misleading too. I heard an app developer describe their location check as “periodic evaluation of your approximate location”. The thing is that the “period” here was 3x per second. They’d know if you washed your hands after using the toilet.
There is a very believable allegation that Temu (shopping) installs tracking code on your phone, spies on all other apps, and leaves behind the tracking once the app is uninstalled. ([https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html)). That is not called a virus on a phone, but would most certainly be called a virus on a PC.
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