Internet Security: Is Your Smartphone Safer Than Your PC?

Even though more users are forgoing traditional personal computers for smartphones, are smartphones still safer than PCs? The answer might surprise you.

Security

Jun 19, 2017

by PSafe Newsroom

Whether you do most of your computing on your PC or your smartphone, both need to be protected from cyber-threats. If you’re regularly running a virus scan, monitoring the links you’re clicking, and keeping your security software up-to-date, you’re much more likely to protect yourself, regardless of the kind of device you’re using. Click here to quickly scan your smartphone for malware and remove any security threats:

Globally, the popularity of personal computers (PCs) is on a downward trend as more and more people are using smartphones as their only computing devices. So, because of the decreased popularity of PCs, you would expect that PCs might be safer to use than smartphones. Hackers should now have more to gain by learning to hack smartphones as opposed to PCs, right? While that logic might be right, the reality is that smartphones are safer to use than PCs for several reasons. The following will talk about several of the factors that make your Android much safer for transmitting personal information than your PC.

Sandboxing on Android

Unlike on PCs, each app on your smartphone creates a separate user. That means that if an app infects one user, it can’t infect anybody else’s phone unless that person gives the app permission. In effect, this means that the app can only collect the data you allow it to collect; it can’t even execute files on your SD card since Android makes that impossible.

Compare that to personal computers. If you download an infected piece of software onto your PC, it can keep on harming your PC even after you delete it. That’s because on PCs, viruses are not confined to their own “ecosystems” — they can infect many other files.

Code-Signing on Android

On PCs, you can be duped into downloading unregistered software that may turn out to be infected with malware or other viruses. In contrast, Android developers must be checked out by Android authorities before they can sell their apps in the Google Play store. Because of this vetting, it is very difficult for a malware-infected app to be sold through regular channels (although it does happen).

IP Addresses on Personal Computers

If hackers want to gain access to your PC, they can find your Internet Protocol (IP) address, the address that gives your exact location. In contrast, hackers can’t find mobile devices through their IP addresses. That means if a hacker were to mount an attack based on location, your smartphone would be less likely to be infected.