Help Best Antivirus

[jbraden]

I'm sorry if this was posted in another thread, but I searched many different ways and got nothing. I am wondering if I should download an antivirus and if so, which is the best one?

 

[Muqtar]

I use webroot on my PC and I use webroot on the phone.

The phone version is free and available through the app store.

 

[drexappeal]

I use AVG on my PC's and phone. Works fine for my needs.

 

[crosspatch]

Given that there is Android-based malware out there, and that so many good anti-malware apps are available for free, I think the clear answer is that yes, you should install anti-virus software on your device.

I don't believe in faith-based use of anti-malware software. Here is information from AV-Test.org on the performance of "Anti-Malware Solutions for Android". The best ones (in terms of detection) were those offered by "Avast, Dr. Web, F-Secure, Ikarus, Kaspersky, Lookout, McAfee, MYAndroid Protection, NQ Mobile, and Zoner".

Some popular anti-virus apps performed horribly. I strongly recommend looking at the PDF yourself.

Of course, good detection is essential, but it's only part of the picture. It's no good to have an app that offers strong detection if it makes your phone unbearable to use. So, I recommend reading the feature lists of the top-performing apps, reading reviews (the ones written by people who seem to be sane, anyway), and trying a few of the apps for yourself.

Some of these apps offer so-called "anti-theft" features, which might make them tempting to use. But keep in mind that there are also many dedicated anti-theft apps available, so you don't have to get all the functionality you want in just one app (or from one developer, as the case may be).

Also, some anti-virus apps (Kaspersky Mobile Security Lite, at least) only scan apps as they are being installed, and can't scan anything already on your phone.

I have personally been impressed with avast! Mobile Security, Dr.Web Anti-virus Light, and Zoner AntiVirus Free. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, though.

I hope that helps.

 

[jbraden]

Thanks for your response guys. All of them were a great help.

 

[davect01]

I personally have Avast, and it seems to work well.

 

[drexappeal]

Read more reviews and switched over to Avast! I read through an article where 40+ anti-virus apps had been tested and out of all the apps, 7 found in the 90% range. AVG tested well, but not as good as Avast, McAfee and some other ones I can't remember.

 

[crosspatch]

I'm not sure I want to recant my former advice, but the more I use anti-virus apps, the more I think they screw up my phone. It seems that every time I allow an anti-virus app's monitoring function to run, I have a problem: At some point (within a couple/few hours of running the anti-virus app), I'll try doing something on my phone, and nothing will happen. I could be trying to open the email app, the browser, or anything. But nothing happens. I tap, and ... nothing.

One of the few things that I can reliably do is to open the native Task Manager. When I do this and kill the anti-virus app, the drain is unclogged--my phone works normally again.

This has happened too many times for it to be a coincidence. And it has happened with avast!, with Zoner, and with Dr.Web.

I've scanned the crap out of my phone and no malware is ever detected, so that probably is not it. The problem only happens when an anti-virus app's real-time monitor is enabled.

I'm sorry if my advice causes similar (or other) problems for anyone else.

For now I'm just running with Dr.Web Light installed but with its real-time component disabled.

 

[daivar]

Hi,

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Hi,