What Android Anti virus do you recommend ?

k-4 said:
I need something very small as I don't have much storage space, Sony does not believe in apps installing to SD cards.

It must be simple, very light on system resources and it must have a very high detection rate.
Click to expand...
http://officialandroid.blogspot.com/2014/04/expanding-googles-security-services-for.html
Verify apps: now protecting you continually
Building on Verify apps, which already protects people when they’re installing apps outside of Google Play at the time of installation, we’re rolling out a new enhancement which will now continually check devices to make sure that all apps are behaving in a safe manner, even after installation.
Click to expand...
 
Hamster said:
I get what you are saying, but then again it is the same as saying "I've never contracted an STD or got somebody pregnant so condoms serve no purpose"

Android is vulnerable. Dont be silly, wrap your droid.
Click to expand...
The Play Store is safe :p
k-4 said:
When I downloaded that app, it was still new on GOOGLE PLAY, there were no bad reviews yet, only after I checked my airtime and enquired with my service provider did I realize ... Common sense can only go so far.
Click to expand...
There is no app that's gonna magically save you battery life also I assume there was user ratings?
 
DA-LION-619 said:
How did you know it was the app, did you contact the subscribing service?
Click to expand...

My service provider discovered it, but I realize that the subscription only started when I downloaded the app, so I checked the reviews and only then realized that a lot of other people had the same issue with the app. And then a few days later the app vanished from Google play .
 
Last edited:
DA-LION-619 said:
You just contradicted yourself.
Click to expand...

That was when I downloaded the app, after several days and consulting with my service provider I checked AGAIN (several days later) by googling it, which led me to the play store reviews detailing the subscription issue. (I didn't see it at first because I only checked the first 3 reviews. )
 
Yes android is vulnerable. But AV can only do (detect) so much. Still... Something is better than nothing.
 
Thanks for all the recommendations,

Currently trying Bitdefender anti virus free. It's only 1.06 MB, I doubt ill find something smaller or lighter and it uses in the cloud scanning...what ever that means, but apparently it's supposed to be lighter on system resources and offer better protection. So let's see.
 
k-4 said:
Thanks for all the recommendations,

Currently trying Bitdefender anti virus free. It's only 1.06 MB, I doubt ill find something smaller or lighter and it uses in the cloud scanning...what ever that means, but apparently it's supposed to be lighter on system resources and offer better protection. So let's see.
Click to expand...
There's no way it could be 1.06 megabytes
 
If you read the permissions the apps require and actually think what the app really needs then making a decision to install it or not a antivirus isnt needed. It just slows down the phone..
 
People are still asking for this? Jeez...

Antivirus software on Android is a waste. All permissions requests are done upon install, no antivirus is going to retroactively revoke them. It won't have the permission to, anyway.

Best antivirus is to not install apps from outside of the Play Store.
 
I use Sophos's free AV, available on Play. It scans any APK not downloaded from Play before installation.
I do sideload a lot of apps and it has warned/blocked seemingly legit APK's modded with malware. It additionally warns you about apps that have excessive, or has the main purpose, of delivery ads/misc content.

Not resource intensive at all, as far as I can tell.
 
Last edited:
lcbxx said:
I use Sophos's free AV, available on Play. It scans any APK not downloaded from Play before installation.
I do sideload a lot of apps and it has warned/blocked seemingly legit APK's modded with malware. It additionally warns you about apps that have excessive, or has the main purpose, of delivery ads/misc content.

Not resource intensive at all, as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

How are you getting these legit apps?
 
k-4 said:
I need something very small as I don't have much storage space, Sony does not believe in apps installing to SD cards.

It must be simple, very light on system resources and it must have a very high detection rate.
Click to expand...

I recommend not installing an "Anti-Virus" app at all. This is because there have never been a virus found on Android, and traditional viruses are generally considered impossible on sandboxed operating systems such as Android and iOS.

So-called "Anti-Virus" apps are actually just malware scanners that compare the apps installed on your phone to a list of known malware apps. However, you already have a malware scanner on your phone that does this very well: Google Play Services. You can make sure it's activated by going into your app drawer, tapping on "Google Settings", tapping on "Very Apps", and making sure that verify apps is enabled.

Google Play Service meets all your criteria:

- It doesn't use any additional system resources compared to what your phone is using now.
- It's extremely simple - just tick one box and you're sorted.
- It has a huge database - it comes directly from Google.
- It's already installed on your phone!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X