Android owners are the least prepared for mobile security threats: 39% say they haven't taken any precautions to prevent someone from misusing data on their cell phone if it were lost or stolen, according to a new Gadgetology survey from Retrevo.
That compares to 30% of BlackBerry owners and 26% of iPhone owners who say the same:
Meanwhile, more than six in ten BlackBerry owners (62%) and iPhone owners (61%) say their mobile phones are protected via password, compared with 49% of Android owners who say the same.
Below, additional findings from Retrevo's recent Gadgetology Report, based on a survey of online adults conducted in June 2011.
Mobile Malware
Roughly one-third of cell phone owners are uninformed about mobile malware: 32% of Android owners say their cell phones can get malware, while 27% aren't sure. That level is just 4 percentage points lower than the 36% of iPhone owners who say the same.
Fewer Android owners know how to recover a lost phone: 39% say they don't know how to recover a lost phone, compared with 31% of BlackBerry owners and 26% of iPhone owners.
Other 'Threats': Toilets, Coffee Spills
More than one-third of online adults (36%) say they have dropped their mobile phone in a toilet or know someone who has done so.
Dropping a cell phone on the floor is a common occurrence (44%), as is spilt coffee or beverages (30%) and losing a cell phone to a pool, lake, or other body of water (31%).
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Threats to Android Devices on the Rise
An estimated three in ten Android owners encounter a Web-based threat on their device each year, according to separate research form Lookout Mobile Security.
Android users were 2.5 times more likely to encounter malware in June 2011 than they were just six months earlier. Moreover, and estimated one-half million to one million Android owners were affected by mobile malware in the first half of 2011.
Apps have also been a target: More than 400 Android apps were infected with malware in June, compared with 80 apps in January 2011.
Attackers are deploying a variety of increasingly sophisticated techniques to take control of the phone, personal data, and money, according to Lookout Mobile. Additionally, malware writers are using new distribution techniques, such as malvertising and upgrade attacks.
About the data: The Retrevo Gadgetology Report is based on a survey of 1,000 visitors to Retrevo.com, a consumer electronics shopping and review website, fielded in June 2011. Lookout Mobile findings are based on 1H11 data collected and analyzed by company via its Mobile Threat Network.
