Developers have discovered a serious vulnerability with Samsung’s Exynos-powered smartphones — including its latest Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II devices — that can provide attackers with access to all physical memory. The flaw leaves the handsets open to malicious apps that can access a user’s personal data, completely wipe their data, or worse, brick their handset.

There’s no two ways about it, malware is a major problem for Android users. You may be someone who’s never been subjected to it, you may have the know-how to detect and remove it — and that’s great — but millions of other users are affected by it every year. During 2012, one leading security firm reported more malware threats for Android than it did for Windows.

The biggest threat to Android users, according to mobile security firm Lookout, is “toll fraud” — malicious apps that are designed to quietly send premium rate text messages from your handset without your knowledge. Chances are you’ll know nothing about it until you receive your monthly bill — then you’ll have a small fortune to pay in charges.

Android’s built-in malware scanner can’t be completely trusted just yet.

With its Android 4.2 Jelly Bean upgrade, Google provided its users with extra protection by introducing an extended malware scanner that’s designed to prevent malicious applications from making their way onto your smartphone or tablet. Not only does it scan the apps you download from Google Play, but also those you acquire from third-party sources, such as Amazon’s Appstore.

It gives Android users peace of mind. The only problem is, new research has proven that the feature is largely worthless. When Google’s malware scanner was put through its paces, it was able to detect just 15.32% of malicious apps.

Look out for more Android malware in 2013.

One of the biggest reasons I switched from Windows to a Mac all those years ago was OS X’s supposed immunity to malware and viruses. I’ve quickly discovered throughout 2012, however, that my Mac isn’t as safe on the Internet as I’d been led to believe. A new report from antivirus experts Sophos today highlights that.

The company’s Security Threat Report 2013 declares 2012 to be the year of “new platforms and changing threats.” Hackers are switching their focus from Windows to other platforms, including Mac OS X. Today’s biggest target, however, is Google’s Android platform.

Among all the great new features introduced in Android 4.2, is a lesser known hero: Bouncer. Bouncer is the automated malware scanning system that Google introduced back in February. Its mains function is to analyze any app or new developer account uploaded to the Google Play store for known malware, spyware, or just plain bad behavior. In Android 4.2, Google has expanded the role of Bouncer, allowing him to keep tabs on apps you just insist on side-loading.