Google: Newer Android Versions Are Less Affected By Malware
Google is finally seeing tangible results after dedicating itself to improving Android's security in the past few years. According to new statistics the company released today, percentage-wise devices running newer Android versions have been infected in much fewer numbers than devices running older OS releases. For example, the percentage of Android devices that contain at least one potentially harmful application (PHA) --the term Google uses for Android malware-- is above the 0.5 percent figure for Android devices running KitKat (4.x), Lollipop (5.x), and Marshmallow (6.x), but it's way smaller for newer OS versions. Google reports that 0.25 percent of all Android Nougat (7.x) devices contain at least one PHA, while the percentage for Oreo (8.x) and Pie (9.x) is even smaller, with 0.14 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively. "We attribute this to many factors, such as continued platform and API hardening, ongoing security updates and app security and developer tr...