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One of the key things about modern computing is trust. Trust in who makes the devices we use, trust in how secure the system that runs on it is, and trust in how safe the apps that run on top of the system are. Buy nearly any computer, smartphone and tablet from any of the larger names on the market and you can be fairly sure that what you buy is trustworthy.

Some services do violate our trust, like in the very recent Instagram debacle. Wether how it was blown way out of proportion and people overreacted, or not, can be debated. However, the trust people once had in the service is most definitely damaged and can very well be questioned. Even though most people have neither read the terms, nor are they likely to be exploited by Instagram given what people post most of the time.

The "best" way to make sure you can't trust your device is to get your software from a untrusted source. Most of the time this means getting a pirated version instead of ponying up the money for a real license. Along with the app comes some unwanted code that either lets "bad guys" see your passwords, financial information or just turns your device into a spam-machine.

Given that the smartphone, the pocket computer so many people now have and depend on in their daily lives, is becoming more and more popular across the whole planet, it's not hard to see where the next major malware market will be. Sadly as it stands today, Android is the platform of choice for those who aim to do just that.

While some voices would love to yell that it's due to the technology used in Android, I'd rather put it on par with the other offerings on the market, like iOS and Windows Phone 8. I honestly don't believe that there is any technical inferiority in Android. The problem is in the mentality of many Android users, who stubbornly refuse to pay for the apps they want to use. Naturally this isn't limited to Android, but quite common on at least iOS as well.

There are those who liken the current smartphone market to the PC market in the 1980s, with the Mac VS PC war that followed. I think the comparison is wrong on so many levels that the whole thing just becomes silly. The one thing I think is anywhere near comparable between the two situations is the one regarding where malware will be in the near future. I fully believe the most common operating system on the market, Windows in the past and Android now, will have the largest amount of malware in the wild.

Of course, I'd love for Google and the Android device manufacturers to prove me wrong!

Robert Falck

Robert is a freelance tech writer from Sweden. You can follow his posts here on the British Tech Network, listen to him yap away on the British Tech iOS Show and read even more of his stuff on his site streakmachine.com or you can even follow him on twitter @streakmachine. (But you won't find him on Facebook!)

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Robert Falck

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