3 Best Free Antivirus Apps for Android Phones

Keeping your Android phone secure without security software is doable, but it’s also risky. That’s especially true if you liberally download apps from the Play Store or use your phone to open a lot of files from email or messaging platforms.

If you want to make sure your Android device is secure from these threats, an antivirus app is the way to go. In fact, there are a bunch of completely free services in Google Play, but you want to make sure you’re getting security from a known and reputable company. Because there’s only one thing worse than getting pwned by an app you downloaded: getting pwned by an antivirus app you downloaded instead.

Fortunately, almost every major antivirus maker has an Android app with the ability to keep your device secure, and some of them are even free. And by free we mean really free—not just day-trial free. Some may have more restricted features (often the trade-off for not having to pay anything), but if you want to keep your device more secure without paying for a subscription you don’t otherwise need, these are the apps we recommend.

To fortify your smartphone even further, check out our roundup of the best free VPNs for Android—a great way to protect your privacy and guard your data while using public Wi-Fi.

1. Avira Security for Android – Best overall

Pros

• Offers very good value
• Excellent antivirus protection

Our top pick is Avira for a few reasons. First, it gets top marks from both AV-Test and A-V Comparatives. From the former it earned percent on both the real-time attacks and widespread malware tests in March Over at A-V Comparatives Avira got percent detection using nearly 3, samples in the Mobile Security Review.

Avira also has a wider number of features. Beyond the virus scanner, it has MB of VPN usage per day, some storage-optimizing features, identity protection, and a permissions manager.

It’s a nice set of features along with top-notch protection, at this writing.

2. Bitdefender Antivirus for Android – Simpler option

Pros

• Affordable
• Scans are fast and effective

Cons

• Malware scans require internet connection

If you want something much simpler, and that has equally good protection rankings look no further than Bitdefender. The Romania-based company actually has two apps in the Play Store. The free one is Bitdefender Antivirus, not Bitdefender Mobile Security.

The free version does exactly what it says: scans your phone when you ask it to. There’s also some minimal automated scanning from Auto-pilot when you download a new app—a potential attack vector for Android phones.

Bitdefender earned percent from AV-Test for real-time attacks and widespread malware tests for March It also had a percent detection rating from AV-Comparatives’ Mobile Security Review.

3. AVG Antivirus Free for Android – Honorable mention

Pros

• Easy-to-use interface
• Nice set of features for a free service

Cons

• Malware protection isn't perfect

Another top protection option is AVG Antivirus & Security for Android. It got top marks from AV-Test with percent protection for the real-time and widespread malware tests. Over at AV-Comparatives, however, the detection rate was percent, with one false positive. That’s partially why we’re putting it down here in third place. Another downside is that it uses personalized advertising to support it, while the others don’t.

Despite that annoyance, however, there’s a lot to like about AVG’s free Android app. It can scan apps and files, clean-up junk files, and scan your current Wi-Fi network. it also has malicious website protection, a “RAM booster” that kills background apps, a Wi-Fi speed test, and an anti-theft feature for tracking and securing your phone remotely. That last feature requires an AVG account.

If you prefer Avast, which owns AVG, that app is good too. It had the same protection scores as AVG and pretty much the same feature set for free.

4. Sophos Intercept for Mobile – Ad-free

Pros

• No ads
• Good threat detection

Cons

• Support is a little difficult to reach

Sophos was not analyzed on Android by A-V Comparatives, as the company opted for only a score from AV-Test. AV-Test gave it percent in March for the real-time malware attacks. For the widespread malware test, meanwhile, Sophos earned percent.

For major features, Sophos offers a lot including malware scanning for apps and files, malicious web page blocking, a link checker for protection against malicious links, Wi-Fi network scanning, and a privacy advisor.

While it has a slightly lower score than the other apps for real-time reaction it’s still a very good service and it has a lot of nice features. Plus, it doesn’t have any ads.

How to choose a free antivirus for Android

We’ve already touched on this briefly, but you should always get your antivirus from a well-known security company. It’s also a good idea to see what third-party testing firms are saying in their reports about various Android apps.

After that, you should see if the company is using ads in their app and whether you’re okay with it or not. Finally, see if it has the features you’re looking for. Pretty much all the features you can expect in a free app are like the ones we highlighted here. If you’re looking for active real-time scanning, for example, that is a paid option from most services.

How we tested

For these antivirus apps we installed and ran the app for each selection, as well as consulted with third-party testing firms to see what kind of protection scores the apps received. We also filtered out any “free” apps from major antivirus vendors that were only limited free trial since a free service and a free trial are not the same thing. A free service should be a long-term service with an option to upgrade to a better version of the app with a subscription.

There are an absolute ton of antivirus choices for Android users, but these four should be at the top of your list.

In Softonic we scan all the files hosted on our platform to assess and avoid any potential harm for your device. Our team performs checks each time a new file is uploaded and periodically reviews files to confirm or update their status. This comprehensive process allows us to set a status for any downloadable file as follows:

Clean

It’s extremely likely that this software program is clean.

What does this mean?

We have scanned the file and URLs associated with this software program in more than 50 of the world's leading antivirus services; no possible threat has been detected.

Warning

This software program is potentially malicious or may contain unwanted bundled software.

Why is the software program still available?

Based on our scan system, we have determined that these flags are possibly false positives.

What is a false positive?

It means a benign program is wrongfully flagged as malicious due to an overly broad detection signature or algorithm used in an antivirus program.

Blocked

It’s highly probable this software program is malicious or contains unwanted bundled software.

Why is this software program no longer available in our Catalog?

Based on our scan system, we have determined that these flags are likely to be real positives.

We’d like to highlight that from time to time, we may miss a potentially malicious software program. To continue promising you a malware-free catalog of programs and apps, our team has integrated a Report Software feature in every catalog page that loops your feedback back to us.

Flag any particular issues you may encounter and Softonic will address those concerns as soon as possible.

AVG AntiVirus Free

The AVG AntiVirus app for Android was the very first antivirus app on Google Play that reached million downloads. It protects you from spyware, unsafe apps and settings, viruses, and other malware and threats.

It supports scheduled scans, protects against malicious apps, can scan the files stored on the internal storage device, warns you about apps that other AVG users have reported as a threat, and can treat potentially unwanted programs as malware.

Also, this app protects you while browsing the internet in Chrome, too.

The biggest downfall with this Android antivirus tool is that it's littered with advertisements; they're on almost every single screen. Plus, you're always just one tap away from upgrading to the pro version from every area of the app, which is frustrating if you accidentally tap it.

It's also annoying when AVG finds risks that aren't actually malicious. However, if you do like to have those kinds of alerts, even if no files or apps are found to be harmful, then you won't have a problem with that.

For example, after a scan, you might be told that the "unknown sources" option is disabled on your phone that would normally tell you when you've installed an unofficial app that could contain threats.

While that feature should probably always be enabled, disabling it doesn't necessarily mean you are currently under attack or have infected files.

App backup, camera trap, device lock, VPN protection, app lock, and no ads, are a few of the unsupported features in the free edition. There are also various links to features that you can only get in other apps, so you might find yourself leaving AVG for the Play Store when you try tapping those options.

Download AVG AntiVirus Free

Putting one of the best Android antivirus apps on your Android smartphone or tablet can help protect them from corrupted or malicious apps and other kinds of malware.

There are a wide range of choices available to suit both your budget and your desired protection level. In addition to excellent malware detection and prevention, the best Android antivirus apps also include privacy and anti-theft features. While most of these apps have a free service tier that allow you to test them out before paying for an annual subscription, some are entirely free.

Some of the best Android antivirus apps on this list will backup your contacts and other important data, track your phone or tablet via GPS, take a picture of a phone thief using your device’s camera and even allow you to use your Wear OS smartwatch to find your phone.

We’ve rounded up the best offerings from the biggest names in the mobile antivirus business – Avast, Bitdefender, Lookout, McAfee, Norton and even Google itself – and rated their Android apps based on setup, interface, usability, extra features and of course, their ability to protect your devices from the latest cyber threats.

To determine the level of protection offered by each app, we used data from the independent German testing lab AV-Test which rates most major security apps on their ability to detect malware and other threats. We also used the Geekbench 5 app to measure the impact each of these apps have on overall Android performance.

What are the best Android antivirus apps?

Based on our tests, the best Android antivirus app today is Bitdefender Mobile Security ($15 per year) which offers nearly flawless malware protection and a wide range of features.

While Norton Mobile Security (starting at $15 per year) has even better protection, Norton has discontinued the excellent free tier of Norton Mobile Security and its anti-theft features, so you’ll need to pay something to protect your devices.

Both Avast Mobile Security and McAfee Mobile Security offer a lot of features for free and do fairly well in malware-detection tests. However, Avast’s anti-theft and call-blocking tools didn’t work well and the free versions of both apps show a lot of ads.

Lookout Security & Antivirus was one of the first mobile antivirus apps and has a compelling identity protection option. Still though, there’s little third-party lab testing data on the efficiency of Lookout’s antivirus, so we don’t really know exactly how well it protect against malware.

Google Play Protect on the other hand is pre-installed on every Android phone with Google Play. Unfortunately, It’s not the best at protecting against malware but it has certainly improved over the years.

For malware protection on other platforms, be sure to visit our pages on the best antivirus software and the best Mac antivirus.

Editor's note: Future, the parent company of Tom's Guide, has chosen to stop doing business with Russian companies, including Kaspersky. We remain committed to helping our readers to source and find the best products and will offer multiple alternatives in the categories affected. 

The best Android antivirus app you can get

Bitdefender's Android security app has nearly flawless malware protection, a very light performance impact, Android Wear watch integration, a VPN client and a malicious-website blocker that works with most Android browsers. 

It also has robust privacy-protection tools, including an app lock, a Wi-Fi scanner, anti-theft features and data-breach notifications. A newly added feature, Scam Alert, flags possibly malicious links in SMS text messages, messaging apps and screen notifications.

Bitdefender Mobile Security offers a day trial period, but this is not a freemium app. The separate Bitdefender Antivirus Free for Android app (which is indeed totally free) only scans for malware. 

The built-in VPN client gives you only MB of free data per data — just enough to check your email while traveling. If you want more data, you'll have to pay $7 monthly or $50 yearly.

But at $15 per year, Bitdefender Mobile Security is well worth the expense. It's our choice for the best Android antivirus app.

Read our full Bitdefender Mobile Security review.

Norton Mobile Security, aka Norton , offers the best malware protection of any of the Android antivirus apps we tested. Unfortunately, it no longer has anti-theft functions, nor its contacts backups and Link Guard malicious-link blocker. 

Norton also killed Norton Mobile Security's free tier, which was the best among all the Android antivirus apps we'd recently tested. That's been replaced with a security-only app for one device that costs $15 a year.

For $50 a year, a medium-priced tier called Norton for Mobile adds unlimited VPN service and "dark web" monitoring of your personal information. The most expensive plan, Norton Deluxe, $ per year, is actually part of Norton's antivirus lineup and lets you protect up to five Android, Windows, Mac or iOS devices. 

All of these subscriptions can be paid for right through the Norton app, which has a day free trial period.

Norton's killer feature is the unique App Advisor, which checks apps on your device for heavy data usage and unusual behavior. It also checks apps in the Google Play store for security and privacy risks even before you install them.

Read our full Norton Mobile Security review. 

Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus is one of the most full-featured of the best Android antivirus apps, offering everything from a privacy adviser to a system optimizer to a customizable blacklist. 

But while Avast's malware protection is good, it's far from perfect. Some of Avast's anti-theft functions didn't work for us, and its call-blocking feature didn't work at all. (It's since been removed.) And the free version's ads and constant nags to upgrade are annoying and intrusive.

Those ads go away if you pay for either of Avast Mobile Security's paid tiers, Premium ($2 monthly or $20 yearly) or Ultimate ($7 monthly or $40 yearly). Users of either paid plan also get additional anti-theft features, an app locker and tech support.

The built-in client for Avast's SecureLine VPN is just a tease, and the only way to use it is to pay for an Ultimate tier. Since the stand-alone price for SecureLine is $60 per year, paying an extra $20 on top of the premium Android antivirus tier for unlimited VPN data is not a bad deal. 

Read our full Avast Mobile Security review.

Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus, also known as Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, offers nearly-perfect malware protection, a small system impact and a call blocker that actually works. 

There are no ads in the free version, and not much nagging to upgrade to the paid plan. Free users get call filtering, Android Wear support and a strong set of anti-theft functions, but you have to scan each new app manually. 

Paying users get automatic scans of new apps, an app lock and blocking of known phishing websites. And that's about it. There's no Wi-Fi network scanner and none of the privacy tools that other Android antivirus apps now offer.

If you're just looking for malware protection, you can't really go wrong with Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus's free tier. But while the paid version is inexpensive, it feels stripped-down, and you can get more from Bitdefender's rival paid app for $5 less.

Read our full Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus review.

Lookout Mobile Security, now rebranded as Lookout Security and Antivirus or Lookout Personal, was one of the first Android antivirus apps, and for a long time the best. Its ease of use, clean interface and lack of ads explain its continued popularity. 

But Lookout's costs can rack up quickly. The free tier is bare-bones; it just scans for malware and locates lost phones. 

The premium tier charges $30 per year, even though some of its features — malicious website blocking, Wi-Fi network scanning — come free with other Android antivirus apps. An unlimited VPN and a data-breach notification service make the premium price worthwhile.

At $ per year, the "premium plus" plan is actually a fairly inexpensive identity-protection service that offers many of the same benefits you'd get from LifeLock or IdentityForce. It might well be worth the expense. 

The trouble is that Lookout doesn't often submit its app to third-partly lab evaluations, so we don't really know how well Lookout protects against malware. Its active scans are also slow and heavy.

Read our full Lookout Security & Antivirus review.

Like Avast, McAfee offers (or used to offer) a ton of useful features, but its free version is also full of ads and upsell suggestions. The malware protection is decent, if not fantastic. 

In the summer of , McAfee Mobile Security phased out many of its most useful functions (opens in new tab), including its App Lock, Guest Mode, Anti-Theft, Memory Booster and Storage Cleaner features. It's not really clear why this was done, other than to "adjust our product portfolio."

You'll get some good stuff with the free version of McAfee Mobile Security, such as a way to track each app's data usage and a Wi-Fi security scanner. 

You'll get even more with the "Standard" premium tier, including a URL screener, 24/7 tech support and no more ads. But it's a bit pricey at $30 per year considering that Bitdefender and Kaspersky give you the same features for less.

The top paid tier, "Plus," costs $80 per year and gives you the Standard features plus unlimited VPN access, but only for that single phone or tablet. You can get one of the best VPN services to cover all your devices for less.

Read our full McAfee Mobile Security review.

Google Play Protect comes built into every Android device that runs Google Play, and it would be great if it worked well. Unfortunately, Google Play Protect's dismal malware detection makes the strongest possible argument for using a third-party Android antivirus app. 

We did like that Google Play Protect's interface is minimal, there are no ads and the system impact is light. Some of Android's other built-in features, including Find My Device and Chrome Safe Browsing, mirror what third-party antivirus apps do on the side.

Google Play Protect's best feature is that Google can use it to remotely disable dangerous apps. This stays the case whether you're running third-party antivirus software or not. We recommend you not disable Google Play Protect.

But overall, Google Play Protect is awful at protecting you from malicious apps. For your own sake, please use something else.

Read our full Google Play Protect review.

Best Android antivirus app comparison chart

Why you should use an Android antivirus app

In order to keep your Android smartphone or tablet safe, you should keep its software updated to the latest version. This is because each new version of Android is more secure than its predecessor, and each monthly Android security update fixes newly found flaws.

However, unless you have a Google Pixel or Android one phone, you won’t get these updates and upgrades right away. Most device makers need extra time to make sure that changes to Android won’t break their devices or software.

The time between updates can be a couple of weeks though it can also take months. To make matters worse, some Android phones stop getting Android OS upgrades after two years and a few never receive monthly security patches at all.

This is where the best Android antivirus apps come in. They stop attacks that try to get around Android’s built-in defenses, especially those that Google has patched but your device doesn’t yet (or never will) have. They also stop new attacks that Google Play Protect won’t catch, even on Pixel devices. 

How to choose the best Android antivirus app for you

Android antivirus apps typically come in three pricing schemes: fully free, fully paid and freemium.

Freemium apps let you choose between getting a limited set of features for free or upgrading to the premium version which gives you access to all of their features, similar to fully paid apps. Apps that offer a lot of features for free may also show you a lot of ads.

Some of the features included in the best Android antivirus apps might include anti-theft mechanisms, an “advisor” to help you examine and choose apps, a Wi-Fi network security scanner or an app lock that requires a passcode to open specific apps.

Both paid apps and premium tiers generally cost between $15 and $30 per year. However, some app makers try to limit the number of devices you can install their premium/paid versions on. Meanwhile, others tack on a super-premium tier that gives you unlimited access to a VPN or identity protection service, often at a pretty good price.

Still though, the most important factor when deciding on which Android antivirus app to use is malware protection.

Norton and Bitdefender lead in this area while Kaspersky isn’t far behind. Avast is good but not great while the built-in Google Play Protect still needs some work. We’re not sure about both Lookout and Security since neither company has submitted their apps to recent lab tests. 

How we tested the best Android antivirus apps

In order to gauge the security protection offered by each of the best Android antivirus apps, we used the latest bimonthly test results from the independent German lab AV-TEST (opens in new tab) which measures how well Android security apps can detect zero-day malware and other threats.

As some apps had scores that were inconsistent from one test to the next, we also looked back at the previous two years of results.

At the same time, we also used some results from the Austrian lab AV-Comparatives (opens in new tab) that tests nearly every Android antivirus app on the Play Store once a year including those that don’t work together with testing labs. However, these tests are less detailed.

To measure the impact antivirus apps have on an Android smartphone’s overall performance, we used the benchmarking app Geekbench 5 on a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 running Android For each app, we ran Geekbench without an antivirus app first to establish a baseline before running it with one of the review apps installed as well as during each app’s full scan.

From here, we then took a closer look at the number and usefulness of each app’s features and evaluated which features are reserved for paid users. Additionally, we assessed each app’s user interface and installation process.

Editor's note on Kaspersky

Kaspersky antivirus products have been banned from use for U.S. government agencies and defense contractors. This makes sense as Kaspersky is a Russian company and antivirus software can peer deep into a PC which creates an unacceptable risk for people and organizations involved in national security and critical infrastructure.

At the same time, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led many Western companies (including our own) to stop doing business with Russian organizations. On our end, we have suspended our affiliate-sales relationship with Kaspersky.

However, we still think Kaspersky software is generally safe for home users. This is because we’ve seen no evidence to convince us otherwise. Kaspersky’s researchers are also well respected throughout the antivirus industry and the company has publicly exposed Russian cyber espionage campaigns as well as those carried out by the United States and other countries around the world.

We don’t know whether economic sanctions on Russian companies will result in Kaspersky’s software becoming unreliable or unavailable for users in Western countries. Kaspersky has moved many of its operations outside of Russia, so it’s possible there will be no effect on how its software operates.

Whether you choose to use Kaspersky software is up to you. We can only make recommendations on how well antivirus programs work and how easy they are to use.

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Anthony Spadafora is the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to password managers and the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. Before joining the team, he wrote for ITProPortal while living in Korea and later for TechRadar Pro after moving back to the US. Based in Houston, Texas, when he’s not writing Anthony can be found tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home. 

Avast Mobile Security achieved perfect results in German independent lab AV-TEST's evaluations of Android security products (opens in new tab) conducted in July The app detected % of the 3, "real-time" malware threats used, and % of the 3, samples that had been uncovered in the previous four weeks.

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Is Avast Free Mobile Security Safe?

Avast Mobile Security for Android is one of avast free antivirus android best free antivirus programs for Android users because it enhances your privacy and security with our cutting-edge cybersecurity protections and the world's largest threat-detection network. How do I contact Avast customer service? +

Is Avast security good for Android?

Avast Mobile Security

Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus is one of the most full-featured of the best Android antivirus apps, offering everything from a privacy adviser to a avast free antivirus android optimizer to a customizable blacklist. But while Avast's malware protection is good, it's far from perfect, avast free antivirus android. Is Avast still good ? On the whole, yes. Avast is a good antivirus and provides a decent level of security protection. The free version comes with lots of features, although it doesn't protect against ransomware. If you want premium protection, you'll have to upgrade to one of the paid-for options.

Is Avast spyware?

Get ahead of spyware attacks with Avast One, a powerful spyware prevention tool that provides top-notch cybersecurity protection. It's just one of many reasons why more than million people trust Avast with their security and privacy. What does Avast Mobile Security do? Avast Mobile Security is a security app for Android designed to protect your device against unwanted phishing, malware, spyware, and malicious viruses such as Trojans.

What is the use of Avast Mobile Security?

Avast Mobile Security for Android is a security app that secures mobile devices against unwanted phishing, malware, and spyware, avast free antivirus android well as malicious viruses such as trojans. What do viruses do to your phone? What can viruses and other malware do to Android phones? Malware is designed to generate revenue for cybercriminals. Malware can steal your information, make your device send SMS messages to premium rate text services, or install adware that forces you to view web pages or download apps.

Where is Avast located?

Keeping your Android phone secure without security software is doable, but it’s also risky. That’s especially true if you liberally download apps from the Play Store or use your phone to open a lot of files from email or messaging platforms.

If you want to make sure your Android device is secure from these threats, an antivirus app is the way to go. In fact, there are a bunch of completely free services in Google Play, but you want to make sure you’re getting security from a known and reputable company. Because there’s only one thing worse than getting pwned by an app you downloaded: getting pwned by an antivirus app you downloaded instead.

Fortunately, almost every major antivirus maker has an Android app with the ability to keep your device secure, avast free antivirus android, and some of them are even free. And by free we mean really free—not just day-trial free. Some may have more restricted features (often the trade-off for not having to pay anything), but if you want to keep your device more secure without paying for a subscription you don’t otherwise need, these are the apps we recommend.

To fortify your smartphone even further, check out our roundup of the best free VPNs for Android—a great way to protect your privacy and guard your data while using public Wi-Fi.

1. Avira Security for Android – Best overall

Pros

• Offers very good value
• Excellent antivirus protection

Our top pick is Avira for a few reasons. First, it gets top marks from both AV-Test and A-V Comparatives. From the former it earned percent on both the real-time attacks and widespread malware avast free antivirus android in March Over at A-V Comparatives Avira got percent detection using nearly 3, samples in the Mobile Security Review.

Avira also has a wider number of features. Beyond the virus scanner, it has MB of VPN usage per day, some storage-optimizing features, identity protection, and a permissions manager.

It’s a nice set of features along with top-notch protection, at this writing.

2. Bitdefender Antivirus for Android – Simpler option

Pros

• Affordable
• Scans are coreldraw x9 free download full version with crack and effective

Cons

• Malware scans require internet connection

If you want something much simpler, and that has equally good protection rankings look no further than Bitdefender. The Romania-based company actually has two apps in the Play Store. The free one is Bitdefender Antivirus, not Bitdefender Mobile Security.

The free version does exactly what it says: scans your phone when you ask it to. There’s also some minimal automated scanning from Auto-pilot when you download a new app—a potential attack vector for Android phones.

Bitdefender avast free antivirus android percent from AV-Test for real-time attacks and widespread malware tests for March It also had a percent detection rating from AV-Comparatives’ Mobile Security Review.

3. AVG Antivirus Free for Android – Honorable mention

Pros

• Easy-to-use interface
• Nice set of features for a free service

Cons

• Malware protection isn't perfect

Another top protection option is AVG Antivirus & Security for Android. It got top marks from AV-Test with percent protection for the real-time and widespread malware tests. Over at AV-Comparatives, however, the detection rate was percent, with one false positive. That’s partially why we’re putting it down here in avast free antivirus android place. Another downside is that it uses personalized advertising to support it, while the others don’t.

Despite that annoyance, however, there’s a lot to like about AVG’s free Android app. It can scan apps and files, clean-up junk files, and scan your current Wi-Fi network. it also has malicious website protection, a “RAM booster” that kills background apps, a Wi-Fi speed test, and an anti-theft feature for tracking and securing your phone remotely. That last feature requires an AVG account.

If you prefer Avast, which owns AVG, that app is good too. It had the same protection scores as AVG and pretty much the same feature set for free.

4, avast free antivirus android. Sophos Intercept for Mobile – Ad-free

Pros

• No ads
• Good threat detection

Cons

• Support is a little difficult to reach

Sophos was not analyzed on Android by A-V Comparatives, as the company opted for only a score from AV-Test. AV-Test gave it percent in March for the real-time malware attacks. For the widespread malware test, meanwhile, Sophos earned percent.

For major features, Sophos offers a lot including malware scanning for apps and files, malicious web page blocking, a link checker for protection against malicious links, Wi-Fi network scanning, and a privacy advisor.

While it has a slightly lower score than the other apps for real-time reaction it’s still a very good service and it has a lot of nice features. Plus, it doesn’t have any ads.

How to choose a free antivirus for Android

We’ve already touched on this briefly, but you should always get your antivirus from a well-known security company. It’s also a good idea to see what third-party testing firms are saying in their reports about various Android apps.

After that, you should see if the company is using ads in their app and whether you’re okay with it or not. Finally, see if it has the features you’re looking for. Pretty much all the features you can expect in a free app are like the ones we highlighted here. If you’re looking for active real-time scanning, for example, that is a paid option from most services.

How we tested

For these antivirus apps we installed and ran the app for each selection, as well as consulted with third-party testing firms to see what kind of protection scores the apps received. We also filtered out any “free” apps from major antivirus vendors that were only limited free trial since a free service and a free trial are not the same thing. A free service should be a long-term service with an option to upgrade to a better version of the app with a subscription.

There are an absolute ton of antivirus choices for Android users, but these four should be at the top of your list.

AVG AntiVirus Free

The AVG AntiVirus app for Android was the very first antivirus app on Google Play that reached million downloads. It protects you from spyware, unsafe apps and settings, viruses, and other malware and threats.

It supports scheduled scans, protects against malicious apps, can scan the files stored on the internal storage device, warns you about apps that other AVG users have reported as a threat, advanced uninstaller pro activation code can treat potentially unwanted programs as malware.

Also, avast free antivirus android, this app protects you while browsing the internet in Chrome, too.

The biggest downfall with this Android antivirus tool is that it's littered with advertisements; they're on almost every single screen. Plus, you're always just one tap away from upgrading to the pro version from every area of the app, which is frustrating if you accidentally tap it.

It's also annoying when AVG finds risks that aren't actually malicious. However, if you do like to have those kinds of alerts, even if no files or apps are found to be harmful, then you won't have a avast free antivirus android with that.

For example, after a scan, you might be told that the "unknown sources" option is disabled on your phone that would normally tell you when you've installed an unofficial app that could contain threats.

While that feature should probably always be enabled, disabling it Norton Power Eraser 5.3.0.47 Serial Key necessarily mean you are currently under attack or have infected files.

App backup, camera trap, device lock, VPN protection, app lock, and no ads, are a few of the unsupported features in the free edition. There are also various links to features that you can only get in other apps, so you might find yourself leaving AVG for the Play Store when you try tapping those options.

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Antivirus computer program

Avast Antivirus is a family of cross-platforminternet security applications developed by Avast for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. The Avast Antivirus products include freeware and paid versions that provide computer security, browser security, antivirus software, firewall, anti-phishing, antispyware, and anti-spam among other services.^[2]

Avast launched a freeware business product, Avast for Business, in February It is a cross-platform solution that includes antivirus protection, web threat scanning, browser protection, and a cloud management avast free antivirus android ofAvast is the most popular antivirus vendor on the market,^[4] and it had the largest share of the market for antivirus applications.^[5]

In a Februaryavast free antivirus android, test of various antimalware products by AV-TEST, Avast Free Antivirus has earned 6 out of 6 points in "Protection" category, detecting % of malware samples used in this test and earning an "AV-TEST Certified" seal.^[6] Avast's Mobile Security & Antivirus app detected % of malware samples in January test of Android malware by AV-Comparatives.^[7]

In January ofmultiple news avast free antivirus android reported that Avast Antivirus, through a subsidiary, was selling the browsing history of Avast Free product users. Though the company claimed all data was "de-identified", it was reported that the sold data could be linked back to people's real identities, exposing every click and search they had made, but this could not be verified.^[8][9][10] In response, Avast announced that it would close the subsidiary over the data privacy backlash.^[11]

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An antivirus and more for your Android phone

Avast decides to tackle mobile, but does it still come out on top?

If you’ve ever used an antivirus - and let’s be honest, who hasn’t - you’ll be pleased to see a big, orange “scan” button. It’s the center point of the Avast interface, and will be your first step using the app. On the test phone -- untouched by anti-virus scanning until now -- the scan proved acceptably fast (around 25 seconds) despite a slight lag of 3 - 5 seconds before starting.

Once the scan was performed, a list of issues that Avast considered as problematic appeared. None of them were worrying, especially as 2 of the 3 “problems” were simply that an Avast feature was not enabled. Less experienced users might feel that such warnings could be indicative avast free antivirus android mobile security problems but the case is unlikely. If the difference between “problem” and “suggestion” were made clear, it would eliminate this confusion.

Once you’ve taken whatever action you deem appropriate, you’ll find the rest of the features the app offers, either by scrolling down the results page or accessing the list in the menu to the left. Some of these features are mildly interesting: should you choose a premium package (the app is freemium by default), you can remove ads. You can also enable anti-theft measures, scan new files downloaded onto your computer, lock sensitive photos into a vault, and take steps to measure and improve your Wi-Fi speed. Tweak what the app scans when it carries out the general anti-virus scan, and set it to scan on a regular basis of your choosing.

Although many options exist, none of them are groundbreaking. They’re similar to what you’ll find in other apps. By the same token, many of these features are available on your phone (malware scanning, download scanner, avast free antivirus android, app insights, theft controls, etc.). Another problem found with the app is that the features are not of the same type, which some users might find confusing. To give an example, some are standard Avast features (not problematic), others need more permissions before they can run, and some are actually different Avast apps that you’d need to download avast free antivirus android. Offering them all in an undifferentiated list increases the chances that inexperienced (and not-so-inexperienced) users will click through to unwanted product pages and come across annoying permissions decisions.

Avast Antivirus for Android is not the nicest of apps to use. Given that it is a freemium product, ads can be expected. However, what’s not acceptable is how intrusive these ads are. There are ads from 3rd parties and for other Avast services and all of them are sneakily designed to look just pdfFactory Pro Keygen the bona fide app features. It would be easy to accidentally click one. It’s hard to take dire warnings about the safety of your phone seriously when there’s a spammy-looking advertisement for second-hand cars just millimeters away!

Where can you run this program?

This version of Avast is for phones running Android. It’s also available for other platforms, including Windows and iPhone.

Is there a better alternative?

Your opinions about antivirus apps are likely to be shaped by how necessary you think they are. If you believe them to be a valuable addition to your security repertoire, then Avast is one option. There are others, like Kaspersky Internet Security for Android but, from a security point of view, they’re all similar in effectiveness. Preferences for one over another are likely to be aesthetic and influenced by what you use - or have used - avast free antivirus android other platforms in the past.

Our take

Avast was not a pleasant app to use. It was a strange experience - it offered everything you’d expect from an antivirus, comes from a reputable developer, and worked fast and smoothly, but it seems packaged so as to make the user experience so unpleasant, it detracts from its functionality.

Should you download it?

No. Avast Antivirus for Android is ad-ridden, confusing, and potentially unnecessary. If you want a mobile antivirus, check out a competing app like Kaspersky or Bitdefender to see if it offers a better user experience.