Without question, rooting your device absolutely compromises security. That’s the whole point. The question is whether you’re more likely to actually be attacked after you root, and the answer to that is not really, because only a very small percentage of android users root and bad actors focus their efforts on the teeming masses.
You dont know that and you cant prove it, but I believe you that you think it does because I used to say the exact same thing. Whats the percentage of users who use linux, and what percentage of those use Mint? Yet access was leveraged on their site to point to a malicious download. The masses might garner more attention but its easy to become complacent in your minority status about security.
Though only a small percent of android users may root, a small percentage of a big number is still a juicy target for those inclined. If we agree that rooting is a compromise then why would that not be a likely vector? The ever popular SuperSU doesnt have the eyes of the world peering in on its code, nor does it have a development team the likes only google could afford. Anyone in the infosec world will tell you security through obscurity is not really security at all.
I’m just going to leave this here:
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Totally agree, “security by minority” isn’t a guarantee by any means. It’s just an educated risk.
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Let me be the one to point out that once you root… its time to deploy as much security and audit as much as possible. Thus… an antivirus scanner.
Even the play store is not actually well vetted. So much garbage
First smartphone was an HTC HD2 with Gingerbread. All phones since than ran cyanogenmod or lineage.
AV is a waste of time. Prove me wrong. With evidence please.
This is a deep hole… should I go on ?
I personally have seen more malware than an actual classified virus but they do exist.
I started with jelly bean. Love it. Mostly hate the latest versions on android because without root its a pile of malware crap selling you down the river. People are working on root. :)~ I see myself migrating to a linux mobile in some form.
That article states
Many of you, especially if you stick to our guidelines, are protected from this sort of infection by Google’s default behaviour of allowing Google Play apps only.
Though I agree with @SudoSaibot that its a waste of time, your argument doesnt provide evidence that AV is needed in this case. If you have other evidence you should post it for the sake of conversation.
Google’s app scanning in its store has always been pretty terrible. They let tons of scammy apps in there with deceptive names and unnecessary permissions. Being Google it’s algorithmic not curated by humans so it errs on the side of permissiveness, the exact opposite of the Apple appstore which often denies apps for seemingly no reason at all.
They are getting better at this, and every Google.IO has a bit about how their appstore is improving its security. Last time they rebranded it as “Google Play Protect” and gave it a little green shield icon very similar to the ones all the fake android antiviruses use.