Almost one in ten Android apps are fully or partially malware, with third-party app stores the primary source of infected files.

According to Cheetah Mobiles latest security report, which collected 24.4m sample files in the first half of 2014, 2.2m were viruses.

The rise of malware for Android phones has been meteoric, with the latest figures representing over double the total in 2013, and over twenty times the figure seen in 2012. Of the viruses sampled, 68 per cent targeted mobile payment, with charges consumption and privacy leaks placing a distant second and third with 16 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Infection rates are the worst in Asia and Western Europe, where third-party app stores are most prevalent. These tend to have very lax checks to ensure applications do not contain viruses, and as such, malware is often rife on these sites. According to the report, 99.86 per cent of malware came from third-party app stores.

Vietnam was the worst rated country, with 3.65 per cent of phones infected, while France fared the worst in Europe, with 2.97 per cent. India (2.96 per cent) and China (2.45 per cent) were also vulnerable markets, while the UK had an infection rate of only 1.07 per cent, and the US only 0.68 per cent.