Trend Micro predicts Android malware pandemic by year's end

Android malware levels are rising at an alarming rate, according to antivirus maker Trend Micro.

The security firm said at the start of the year, it had found more than 5,000 malicious applications designed to target Google's Android mobile operating system, but the figure has since risen to about 20,000 in recent months.

By the coming third-quarter, the firm estimates there will be around 38,000 malware samples, and close to 130,000 in the fourth-quarter. If Trend Micro is forecasting the numbers correctly, it won't be a flu epidemic you'll be worried about come winter: it'll be an Android malware pandemic.