Android is widely accepted as being iOS' greatest rival, but, according to Dell SecureWorks security researcher Timothy Vidas, it has a host of issues that have made it a target for malware authors. Poor permissions: the huge host of permissions that users must understand are driving them into information paralysis; they are choosing to ignore the warnings presented to them, and not considering whether they may be dangerous or unnecessary. Open marketplace: Google Play does have an automated scanning program called Bouncer, but its effectiveness is as yet unknown. Therefore many Russian and Chinese alternative markets basically distribute 100 per cent malware Inexperienced or malicious developers: if they don't have any malicious intent, the developers could introduce new vulnerabilities into the target device, or create features that have unintended side effects.

Oracle has issued a patch for loopholes in its Java program that was being actively abused by cyber-thieves. The software giant took the unusual step of issuing the patch well before the usual date for security updates. The patch closes loopholes that together left users of almost every operating system vulnerable to infection by viruses.

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