Apple VP Phil Schiller teases Android users about malware

Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, is one of the few Apple executives that uses Twitter, and he’s quite popular, with just under 70,000 followers. He doesn’t use the service much — his last post was on Christmas Day — but today he couldn’t help but return just to tease Android users about malware.

Schiller’s tweet consisted of just three words — “Be safe out there” — plus a link to the latest Mobile Threat Report from security experts F-Secure. That report details the current state of Android security, and all of the new malware variants F-Secure has discovered over the last three months.

“In the fourth quarter alone, 96 new families and variants of Android threats were discovered,” it reads. It also explains how Android accounted for 79% of the 301 mobile threats in 2012, while Apple’s iOS platform accounted for just 0.7%.

Schiller’s tweet has been a big talking point since it was published, but it’s hardly surprising, despite his recent absence from the social network. Apple likes to point out where its competitors are failing, and one of Android’s biggest downsides — at least according to the reports — is its vulnerability to malware.

But reports like this one from F-Secure aren’t always fair. Malware is seen as a downside to the Android platform, but research has shown that basic common sense can prevent almost all malware infections from making their way onto a device.

Providing users download all their apps from Google Play and from trusted developers who have seen plenty of downloads and positive reviews, then it’s highly unlikely malware will be an issue at all. Usually, the threat comes from apps downloaded from third-party sources.