Do You Need To Use Antivirus On Your iPhone
Hackers Are Writing New Malware for iPhones
It used to be that Apple products weren’t as popular and, since they have a lot more built-in security features than Windows systems, hackers wouldn’t really bother writing viruses and malware for them. But all that has changed. Now iPhones, iPads, and Macs are super popular, and hackers are beginning to recognize – and take advantage of – the potential to target a new category of victims.
Hackers are writing new malware specifically for iPhones, and they’re finding ways around the security features built into iOS. One method they’ve come up with is to forge a developer signature so that the malware looks like a legitimate program to macOS and iOS. You definitely need an antivirus program for your iPhone to protect it from malicious apps.
Hackers can also take advantage of security vulnerabilities in iOS – just like they do with security vulnerabilities in Windows and other operating systems. Security backdoors can remain open for years, giving hackers the ability to target you for theft or surveillance over the long term.
iPhones Are Vulnerable to Phishing Scams
iPhones may be somewhat less vulnerable to viruses than Android phones, but viruses aren’t the only threat out there. There’s trojans, backdoor attacks, worms, ransomware, and more. But what hackers really want is your sensitive information – your birthday and Social Security number, or your bank account login credentials, for example. Hackers targeting iPhone users have figured out that sometimes it’s a lot easier to simply trick the user into giving up the goods themselves.
That’s why you have to be careful to protect yourself from phishing scams, which can land in your email inbox or your social media DMs regardless of what operating system your device runs. You need to learn the signs that you’re being targeted by a phishing scam, but that isn’t enough. You also need to do what you can to cut down on the number of these attacks that reach your eyes, because each time a hacker gets through to you with a phishing message, there’s a small chance that you’ll be taken in and act on the message without thinking to examine it more closely. It only takes one moment of weakness to fall victim to a phishing scam. Most antivirus programs for iPhones and iPads include an email filter to keep these fraudulent messages from reaching you so you don’t have to worry about it.