<p> Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2008, mobile devices have become ubiquitous in our society and have spawned a new area for attackers to steal private information and data. Malware has begun to appear on these devices despite the claims of Google and Apple that their devices are secure. To combat this growing problem, companies have started producing applications which claim to have the ability to scan for malware and protect devices from these threats. Current measures to prevent loss of data from malware and illicit use of mobile devices are first be discussed. This thesis then explores and attempts to analyze the three most popular security application offerings on Android OS and determine if these security suites have any benefits to the user above and beyond the standard malware scans that are performed by Google's servers by conducting four separate benchmark tests on the software. Potential problems with these security programs, which include increased system load and loss of battery life, will be included in the discussion along with the results of the tests. Finally, this thesis will explore and discuss the lack of heuristic scanning in these security applications and the potential threat that boot sector viruses might pose to mobile devices in the future. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1527936 |
| Date | 08 August 2014 |
| Creators | Giacalone, Anthony S. |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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