Are Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles prone to catching a virus?
You can use the Internet Explorer app to freely browse any web site.
I couldn't find anything official in regards to my concerns. Are Xbox consoles prone to picking up a virus when using Internet Explorer?
I would also like to know why, or why not.
Best Answer
According to this post I found, you can indeed get a virus on Xbox 360, at least. However, it would be a pretty rare occurrence for several reasons:
- You can't actually download anything from IE on Xbox, so that eliminates the easiest way to get a virus. Basically, the only way to get it without connecting it to a PC would be to open a website or e-mail attachment that could, let's say, inject malicious code targeted towards Xbox into your system. Again, pretty rare nowadays with all the website safety warnings and e-mail filtering.
- Most computer viruses target PC specific software or hardware (for example, a Windows system file, or registry) since the creators of malicious software get very little gain from targeting a gaming console. I doubt that just messing with your machine is a prime goal for most viruses.
The bad thing, though, is that game consoles don't have any virus protection systems in place, as far as I know. Also, with the Xbox One switching to Windows 10 as its OS viruses could potentially be a bigger threat for all Windows systems. So, based on some of the research I did on this matter - yes, in theory you could get malicious software on your console, however, in practice it's nearly impossible as of now.
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Can you get viruses on an Xbox One?
No it is pretty much impossible to get a virus on the Xbox One. Some people mistake it as a possibility due to the Windows-like architecture but the Internet Explorer app does not download data, so on that front, you are safe.Can you get a virus on Xbox 360?
Replies (5) \ue70d Was this reply helpful? Hi ImTwoFitty, there are no viruses on the xbox as you cannot download anything via internet explorer due to there been nowhere to store the items needed to actually download and play video's and games etc.How do you know if your Xbox has a virus?
The only difference is that the attack is usually console-specific, targeting the operating system. A virus damages the software, hardware, or both; therefore, the Xbox is vulnerable to malware since it has these two components. You can only be safe if you have a secure connection or seal all the viruses' entry points.Why Can't You Install Windows on an Xbox?
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