Can smart phones catch viruses?

also check on you tube, lots of videos on phone stuff. Good Luck, Just got my first smart phone. I held out as long as I could !

 

They are mini computers and can get viruses just the same they are harder to attack as they dont run the same type scripting language so the normal browser implanted viruses dont affect it but can be done with executables but most of those are done though app stores which do scanning for them.
Mal ware happens because the free apps ads and in app purchasing options.
Most apps are good and only hog on certain phones.
You should be ok and have a virus as the few I have seen had all been jailbroke ones.
The biggest reason a phone slows down is do to one or more memory hogs so as said before remove apps recently installed and test. Most have phone have a setting to see what apps are using what memory also check to see what apps are pushing and pulling the most data.

 

They still make blackberry phones?

 

Nvm I have an apple. They don't get anything

 

As of july the 9220 came out so yeah still at it just a smaller circle than apple and android

 

in the app store. there's AVG and AVAST.

so, yep, phones can apparently get viruses. just ask that famous female actor that somehow uploaded her naked pics without her knowing. can't remember the story exactly, but it happened couple years ago. and i think she had an iphone. it was the first time i heard of a phone getting whacked.

i downloaded an app couple months back and AVAST blocked it.

 

Wrong-o-mary-lou. There are fewer viruses and malware issues with apple than with Android, but they still get them(mainly because there are 3x as many Android users than Apple). There was the FBI-spoof virus, and a number of malware attacks on iPhones lately.

But as for the original question, yes...smartphones get viruses. But as a Blackberry user, less likely than with a iPhone.

 

Malware is a threat on any type of computing platform, and phones are not immune. Most phone malware is of the "trojan" variety, where you download a program and get more than you expected.

True viruses, such as we have on Macs and Windows PCs, simply can't get a foothold on your phone. The problem is that a virus needs to get administrator (or "root") access, and that is simply not available on stock Android and iOS devices. "Root" your Android phone, or "jailbreak" your iOS device, and then it's possible for a virus to get in there.

Stock phones are about as secure as you can get. Android is based on Linux, and iOS has its roots in BSD (as does MacOS).