Do android need av and firewall

Spiritiser

I got an Android tablet . Do I need av before putting it on my lan?
This says apps run sandboxed anyway and no means to replicate. Could a virus travel from tablet to windows pc/laptop also on lan

Is a firewall needed on tablet. This says no i will only have it on my lan for the moment but if i go to a public wi fi would i need firewall?

if the pass key for my lan is stored in the tablet could it be read from a public wi fi

New to android so appreciate any feedback

Professey Chin

If you treat it like you would a regular pc and pay attention to what youre installing then you dont really need one.
It wouldnt do any harm if you want to be careful but imo theyre not necessary

smee again

You have absolutely no need as long as you stick to apps from the Google Play market and not some dodgy third party. There's no harm in having something on there to track and remotely disable/wipe in case your tablet gets stolen, the thief would have access to your emails and other accounts. I use Cerberus, but there are plenty of other options including one from Google themselves
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus

Professey Chin

smee again wrote: »

You have absolutely no need as long as you stick to apps from the Google Play market and not some dodgy third party. There's no harm in having something on there to track and remotely disable/wipe in case your tablet gets stolen, the thief would have access to your emails and other accounts

Built into Android now with the device manager
https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager

smee again

Professey Chin wrote: »

Built into Android now with the device manager
https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager

:rolleyes: Ninja edited

Cerebrus was around before it and has more features

fl4pj4ck

smee again wrote: »

You have absolutely no need as long as you stick to apps from the Google Play market and not some dodgy third party. There's no harm in having something on there to track and remotely disable/wipe in case your tablet gets stolen, the thief would have access to your emails and other accounts. I use Cerberus, but there are plenty of other options including one from Google themselves
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus

good god, please don't believe what smee again just wrote there. being in google play doesn't mean the app is safe, or - even better - fit for purpose

http://thenextweb.com/google/2012/11/02/fud-alert-72-of-all-android-apps-on-google-play-access-permissions-they-shouldnt/
http://thenextweb.com/google/2012/10/25/in-one-year-android-malware-up-580-23-of-the-top-500-on-google-play-deemed-high-risk/
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/78553.html
and so on

to answer your question - Android has a built in firewall (look it up, it's called iptables) - it's just not being utilized properly (if you want to use it there's a nice gui called DroidWall). android is very far from being safe, and soon we will start witnessing it. good thing is that as long as you stick to apps verified and scrutinized by the community you should be relatively safe

but please under no circumstances assume that Google is somehow protecting Android users from any sorts of threats...

Spiritiser

Thanks everyone. Looking at conecting tablet i noticed my lan security is WPA Personal. i thought it was WPA2 Is there much difference?

smee again

I suggest you read the articles above where it says

Here’s some quick advice for Android users: stick to the Google Play store for your apps. Even then, always read the permissions an app is requesting from you and make sure they make sense for the app you’re trying to install.

demanufactured

There is a firewall on your LAN , you dont need a firewall on a tablet , nor do you need an antivirus , unless your the type who just downloads anything and everything for the sake of it.

smee again

Spiritiser wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Looking at conecting tablet i noticed my lan security is WPA Personal. i thought it was WPA2 Is there much difference?

WPA is fine, as long as it's not WEP. Routers used be set to WPA/WPA2 (either) for backward compatibility with older devices

Spiritiser

smee again wrote: »

WPA is fine, as long as it's not WEP. Routers used be set to WPA/WPA2 (either) for backward compatibility with older devices

ok i am set up now. Is this a safe source

smee again

Spiritiser wrote: »

ok i am set up now. Is this a safe source

That should be fine, but you won't get decent adblock without root access
http://www.androidcentral.com/rooting-it-me-some-qa

Spiritiser

smee again wrote: »

That should be fine, but you won't get decent adblock without root access
http://www.androidcentral.com/rooting-it-me-some-qa

Is root needed to install the android firefox browser. Can i just click install on the site there is no downlod option

smee again

Spiritiser wrote: »

Is root needed to install the android firefox browser. Can i just click install on the site there is no downlod option

It'll be on the Play market, get it from there

Spiritiser

OK got it