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Once you have decided to buy an Android smartphone, you are surely to be bombarded with a billion of choices. The numbers of handset manufacturers are growing exponentially, and there are thousands of opinions about which particular device to choose.
As a buyer, you are bound to feel overwhelmed with all these choices and when choosing from the galore, price becomes main deciding factor if you have a limited budget. And that's where smartphones from less-known manufacturers come in: they promise the same features and quality for half the price of what well-known brands offer. Understandably, it's hard not to be attracted by these generous offerings.
To minimise the risk of purchasing an infected device, or at least to identify a device that will show you advertising in practically every app and collect your personal data without your permission after the purchase, try to follow these:
Do your research: Chances are, the phone you're looking at has already been discussed on the Web — especially if owners are complaining about preinstalled malware.
As is often the case, if something looks too good to be true, perhaps it is too good to be true. It may be wise to avoid smartphones that are radically less expensive than comparable models — it's not unlikely that their manufacturers are using some shady practices to recoup the money that isn't on the price tag.
Check the certification status of your Android device to be sure that its firmware has been tested by Google. Certification doesn't guarantee that there's no malware preinstalled, but certified devices are significantly less likely to be infected before sale.
Install a reliable antivirus utility that will inform and protect you the moment it encounters a malicious program. With malware sometimes installed before a buyer unboxes a new purchase, your smartphone can be infected no matter how safe your behaviour.
Source: The Daily Sta, July 02, 2018