Android Antivirus apps remain one of Android’s most common of apps. Generally, if you’re playing it safe, you don’t need an antivirus app, just download apps from the Play Store, and keep your security settings available. There are many, though, who want to take a walk on the wild side and not do those things. A lot of extremely bad antivirus software are out there. Even if these apps aren’t needed, knowing the safe ones that don’t suck is helpful. Here are Android’s best antivirus software and anti-malware apps. As of January 2021, all rates are present.
Avira is one of the newer antivirus apps comparatively speaking. It grew rather quickly over the last year. The app comes with the basics, including device scans, real-time protection, external SD card scans, and a lot more. This one also comes with a VPN for added layer of security. Some other features include anti-theft support, privacy scanning, blacklisting, and even device admin features. It’s much lighter than apps like Norton and others.
The free version is functional for basic things. The premium versions include three tiered prices that add things like the aforementioned VPN, password generation, more frequent virus database updates, and more.
One of the most common antivirus applications on any platform is Avast Mobile Security. It boasts over 100 million features and millions of downloads. Classical antivirus scanning, an applock, call blocker, anti-theft protection, a picture vault, and even a rooted Android device firewall are some of the features. Even if you don’t need the antivirus part very much, that makes it an excellent instrument. There are also some booster characteristics, but you should avoid those as well.
The free edition comes with most features and is advertising-supported. The premium models come with more security features, no ads, and a VPN is also included in the most costly version.
Another major name in the field of antivirus software is AVG. It’s basically the same as AVAST, in fact. In 2016, AVAST actually bought AVG back. Thus, in both antivirus applications, the experience is identical. In much the same way, you can search your phone and find possible vulnerabilities.
This one has Google Maps anti-theft monitoring, but it does not have the availability of rooted firewalls as AVAST does. Thus, they are sufficiently different to be distinct products. Just make sure that the garbage features such as the phone boost are avoided because they don’t really work. Identical to AVAST are the price ranges and premium characteristics.
One of the few antivirus applications that are currently free is Bitdefender Antivirus. Over the years, it has not altered much. It provides a basic scanning feature, a simple interface, fast quality, and no configuration. For super simple needs, this is a perfect one. All it really does is scan items and then sit there and wait again for things to be scanned. A bigger, more in-depth Bitdefender app exists. However, for those who just want something easy, we think this one is better. With no in-app purchases or subscriptions, it’s also actually free. Advertising is there, however.
In the antivirus and anti-malware environment, ESET is another major name. It has a good range of features, including scans, support for anti-theft, a safety inspector feature, scheduling for scans, and more. A bit intrusive is the setup process. It’s one of the few to have an email address required. It works pretty well otherwise. Upon download, you get a free trial for one month. It goes for $1.99 a month from there, or $14.99 per year. It’s not quite as heavy as AVAST or AVG, but it’s heavier than Bitdefender or CM Protection Lite. For what it’s worth, take that info.
One of the most common antivirus apps is Kaspersky. It has a free version as well as a pro version. SMS and call blocking, scans, malware updates, and anti-theft are provided in both versions. The premium edition adds stuff like security in real time, an applock, and more. Of course, both models have malware scanning for computers and items like that.
It’s not about as heavy as the biggest antivirus software. Plus, it hardly has any hideous booster features that don’t work. Instead of trying to stretch to things that don’t make sense, it’s good to see an antivirus app double down on its intent. If you only need support for one computer, the subscription price is reasonably low.
McAfee is one of the biggest names in antivirus apps. It’s also one of the heaviest. The app includes scanning, anti-theft, anti-spyware, and security locking features. Additionally, it can take photos of your potential phone thief, record locations to the cloud before the phone shuts down, and more useful stuff. McAfee also has a variety of standalone apps for other things. The UI is old and it doesn’t look very good.
Additionally, it has phone booster features that don’t work and it requires an account creation to go pro. The antivirus portion of the app does work rather well and some of the tertiary features are nice. The lower tier subscription adds photo and video backup, an app locker, and Internet protection. The more expensive one adds additional protection for things like online banking.
Malwarebytes is one of the most popular antivirus apps on Windows. The mobile version is pretty good too. It features an aggressively updated virus database, support for malware and ransomware, a permission tracker, and more.
It can even scan messages in WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS, etc for potentially dangerous links. Of course, it does the usual stuff like scanning as well. The app looks nice, works well, and it’s not too heavy like others. It’s also reasonably priced at $1.49 per month or $11.99 per year.
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Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
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