Why you don't need to install an antivirus before paying with your mobile (even if the OCU says otherwise)

The Organization of Consumers and Users has published on Thursday a press release in which it offers a series of recommendations with which to avoid unauthorized payments or other problems of this type when using mobile payment systems .

Some useful tips are included in the list of warnings , but which are ultimately common sense , not only to ensure that our mobile will not be used for unauthorized purchases, but to preserve any type of data stored on it, as is the use of a PIN or password , the encryption of the files, the deletion of the bank details if the mobile is lent or sent for repair, or the simple act of deactivating the NFC when it is not used .

However, among all the tips, it is striking that OCU has decided to recommend the installation of an antivirus on our smartphones before making mobile payments. A tip that, in my opinion, is not only not useful , but it can confuse even more those users who don't know how Android works and mobile payment services.

You do not need an antivirus to pay with your mobile safely.

At this point in 2019, Android being an operating system with more than a decade behind it, there has been a long and tended talk about the existence and need of antivirus in Google's mobile operating system . And almost always, it is concluded that such applications are totally unnecessary , and that common sense will always be a better ally than any type of tool that allows to detect or eliminate “viruses” from our mobile.

And they are even less necessary since Google decided to integrate its own “antivirus” in Android, Google Play Protect , which every day automatically analyzes millions of applications for possible threats, and eliminates those applications that could pose a security risk to users. users. And if you don't believe in the effectiveness of Google’s systems in detecting these types of risks, you should know that Play Protect is backed by expert industry firms such as ESET, Lookout and Zimperium , which by the way, also offer their own antivirus apps for Android on Google Play.

Now, would it make sense to use an antivirus if we are only concerned about possible threats related to mobile payments such as unauthorized purchases or stolen cards? I'm afraid not too much.

A simple search on Google Play gives us thousands of results that refer to the term "antivirus", although only some of the apps from security firms actually fulfill their function. But even so, the vast majority of tools of this type are responsible for analyzing the apps installed on the mobile or the files downloaded on the Internet in search of previously known threats , and do not offer any type of “protection layer” added to the mobile payment process.

And this is because the payment services themselves already include their own security systems . In the case of Google Pay, Google's own payment gateway integrated into Android, a temporary virtual account number is used , which makes the user's “real” bank details always remain private, since they are never shared with the store or trade

Therefore, even if a malicious app was installed on the device, it would not be able to access bank data stored in encrypted form on Google's servers , much less make purchases without authorization from the user. It goes without saying that other services of this type such as Samsung Pay or the payment systems of the main banks and banks also include security systems and protocols of this type.

So, regardless of whether you decide not to be guided by common sense and decide to download applications and files from unreliable sources without having an antivirus installed, it is extremely unlikely that any type of malicious software could access the mobile payment platform data that you use and steal your bank information. One of the few scenarios in which something like this could happen would be if you have this data written in a file stored in the internal memory of your mobile , without any encryption or security. And if so, I think you have more serious problems to worry about than installing an antivirus.