TOP 5 ANDROID SECURITY APPS: DO THEY PROTECT SMART PHONE

There’s some debate about whether you really need antivirus apps on your smartphone. Much depends on whether you side load apps, but there’s no denying that malware has grown into a much greater concern so, Luckily security apps have improved dramatically to keep pace with the new threats, so you have plenty of great protection to choose from.

The majority of Android security apps are actually packages that include a host of other tools from contact filtering to remote lock or wipe. We decided to take a look at the top five Android security apps and find out what they do. We are taking a look at these from a consumer point of view, so be warned that some of the “free” apps are only free for personal, non-commercial use.

The top 5 security apps are as follow

1. 360 Securtiy(Free)

A major player in China, developer Qihu burst onto the scene and claimed the top spot in AV-Test’s September 2013 report with a virtually flawless detection rate of 99.9 percent, the highest of any of the security apps tested. In the latest March 2014 report it achieved a detection rate of 100 percent. The focus with 360 Mobile Security is firmly on detecting and nullifying threats to your system. It has a very streamlined, elegant design. It’s extremely lightweight, and it’s completely free.

2. Avast! Mobile Security

As a genuinely free app for the Android platform, Avast! Mobile Security is offering an impressive range of tools. It has antivirus protection, it scans your apps to provide details on what they are doing, and it has a Web shield that scans URLs for malware.

There are various additional tools in the package and the best of the bunch is the anti-theft component. The app is actually based on an old app called Theft Aware which Avast acquired. The anti-theft feature is hidden and allows you to remote control your smartphone using SMS. So if you lose your phone, you can remotely lock it, locate it, or wipe it. You can make it play a siren sound, lock down the SIM card, and prevent USB debugging as well. It’s a comprehensive solution for theft protection.

3. Eset Mobile Security & Anitvirus

This is a new entry for our top five and it deserves its place with a 100 percen detection rate in the latest AV-Test report and an easy-to-use interface. The basic app is completely free and it provides real-time scanning of apps to detect malware and potentially dodgy apps trying to send texts or make premium rate calls.

The free version also includes a suite of anti-theft tools. You can remotely locate and lock your smartphone or tablet, and you can prevent anyone from uninstalling apps by using password protection.

4. Avira Antivirus Security

With a 100 percent detection rate and no false positives, you can trust the free version of Avira to keep your Android smartphone or tablet safe. It has a light footprint in terms of performance and a sleek, minimalist design that fits in well with the Android platform.

Avira allows you to scan apps for potential trouble and it scans new apps or updates automatically. There’s also the usual batch of anti-theft tools, to help you find your device remotely, lock it, wipe it, or trigger an alarm.

5. AVL

You are probably just looking for malware protection that’s as barebones as possible. If you don’t want anti-theft tools, or identity protection, or any of the other possibly superfluous features that come in many security apps then AVL will suit you.