Asian Android phone users are at two to three times greater risk of downloading malware onto their devices than those in Europe or the Americas, according to a new study.
Cheetah Mobile's “2014 Half Year Security Report” found that Asia, Vietnam and India had the highest infection rates. The group's researchers collected more than 24 million sample files, with about nine percent, or 2.2 million, turning out to be viruses.
Most infected files were payment-related, a category that Cheetah Mobile said will become a primary threat to Android devices in 2014, and came from third-party apps. Within Europe, France had the highest infection rate, and in the Americas, Mexico accounted for the most infections.
Cheetah Mobile explained in an email to SC Magazine that Asia's often lax checks on third-party apps make the area particularly susceptible to infections.
