The Play Affluence hasn't been the best defended abode for apps lately. A quick Google chase for "Play Affluence malware" will accord you a aftertaste of some of the malicious apps that snuck their way assimilate Android's official app store. Google is acquainted of the botheration and they're attached to fix it, but their new Play Protect affairs doesn't accept a abundant clue record, so you adeptness appetite to attending elsewhere.
Like Microsoft Windows, there's a agitation about the call of antivirus programs on Android. Both operating systems accept some anatomy of antivirus aegis congenital that, while adequate, isn't the best. Independent testing has alike apparent that the Google alms provides well beneath boilerplate security.
Many third-party apps accommodate abundant added than antivirus protection. In accession to accepting abundant bigger virus apprehension ante than Android's congenital antivirus solution, these apps act added as security suites that accommodate all the functionality of Play Protect and abundant more. By alms such an affluence of features, antivirus apps accept confused from contemporary to useful.
Comparison Chart
Key Comparison Points
As you can see in the blueprint above, these are the key antivirus appearance that we looked at back baronial the four finalist apps that fabricated our list.
- Real-Time Apprehension Rate: AV-test.org activated anniversary app's adeptness to ascertain the latest malware in real-time. A sample of 3,436 Android malware apps was presented to anniversary app to actuate the listed antivirus apprehension rates.
- Detection Over Four Weeks: AV-test.org activated anniversary app's adeptness to ascertain the latest Android malware over the advance of a month. A sample of 2,643 pieces of malware was acclimated to actuate anniversary app's accuracy.
- Price: The amount to alleviate all features. Anniversary app on our anniversary offers a chargeless balloon or bound functionality.
- Scheduled Antivirus Scanning: The adeptness to automate antivirus scanning based on time of day.
- Scans New Apps: The adeptness to browse apps afore installation.
- Anti-Theft Protection: Anniversary of these app provides three axiological pillars for anti-theft protection: Alien lock, alien wipe, and the adeptness to locate. Alien lock lets you lock your accessory from anywhere, while alien apple-pie lets you branch displace your accessory from anywhere. Finally, anniversary of these apps lets you locate your accessory if you should anytime lose it.
- Remote SMS Control: Your accessory can be controlled appliance argument letters to accredit anti-theft appearance such as alien apple-pie and lock.
- Call Blocking: The app can browse admission calls and block spam or unlisted numbers.
- Web Protection: Provides aegis while appliance the browser. Users are adequate adjoin counterfeit and awful websites.
- App Vault: The adeptness to crave affidavit to use assertive apps. Users will accept to admission a passcode or use the fingerprint scanner to alleviate apps you put in your vault.
- Wi-Fi Protection: Scans Wi-Fi and determines the network's security. Will appraise accessible Wi-Fi for awful users.
- VPN: A Virtual Private Network provides an encrypted adit amid you and the apart internet. Recommended to use on accessible Wi-Fi network, VPN provides abundant aegis from outsiders aggravating to ambush your data.
- Password Manager: Stores all of your passwords in one database, locking it with one adept password. Users charge alone to acquire the adept password, as the countersign for alone accounts can be affected and pasted already admission is accepted to the countersign manager. Alone begin in Sophos, this countersign administrator can either be created or alien from KeePass (another accepted countersign manager).
How We Chose These Apps
An antivirus app is alone as able as its apprehension amount — in added words, you appetite it to atom all malware while giving no apocryphal positives. As such, our aboriginal claim was a 100% apprehension amount for both real-time scanning and scanning over four weeks, based AV-Test.org data. This additionally ensured that all of these apps charge were chargeless of any apocryphal positives.
Our added claim was a complete anti-theft protection. Back Play Protect includes Find My Device, an anti-theft application, any security apartment needs to accommodate this to abundantly alter Google's congenital offering.
Finally, we looked for a apple-pie architecture and added appearance that advance functionality to the security suite. For example, the accession of an app cleaner won't authorize as a affection that enhances the security suite, but absolutely useful appearance like Wi-Fi protection, VPN functionality, or a countersign administrator will.
App 1: Norton Security and Antivirus
Norton Security and Antivirus provides complete aegis for your adaptable accessory with a well-designed app. The way the card is laid out makes aeronautics accessible for anybody (including your grandparents). However, its best affection is App Adviser for Google Play (more on that next).
When App Adviser for Google Play is enabled, Norton will automatically browse apps you appearance in the Play Store. It will again affectation a popup on the app's Play Affluence advertisement allegorical you whether it's safe or not. This is agnate to one of Google Play Protect's capital feature, but with a abundant college apprehension rate.
With its 100% Apprehension Amount of the latest Android malware (both in absolute time and over a four-week span), you can be assured that your accessory won't become infested no amount area you accept to download your apps.
Anti-Theft Aegis is accessible with the adeptness to accidentally ascendancy your accessory appliance argument messages. By texting an activity chat (such as "lock" or "wipe") with the provided passcode, you can accidentally accredit appearance such as locking your accessory or administering a branch reset.
Call Blocking is present for alone and unlisted numbers. You can alike block any cardinal not amid aural your contacts for added privacy.
Norton is the alone app on our anniversary to action VPN aegis for aloofness and security while appliance Wi-Fi. Users will charge to install a plugin to add the feature, which costs $4.99 a ages for one device.
When you amalgamate Norton's VPN with its Wi-Fi Security and Web Protection, you can blow assured that you'll be browsing the web cautiously and securely. Norton alike includes aegis adjoin adverse links with its Articulation Guard feature, which will browse links afore you accessible them, ascertain any abeyant risks, and active you beforehand.
Norton has all the anniversary you would appetite from a security suite. Aside from a countersign administrator (a affection absolute to Sophos Adaptable Security on our list), there isn't any affection defective here. Norton alike includes the adeptness to browse apps afore installation, a affection alone begin in one added app on our list.
While the accepted cable costs $14.99 a year, Norton does action a abundant accord for those who use their software on their desktop. For $39.99 a year, users can awning up to bristles accessories (including PC, Mac, Android, and iOS). You can opt to not pay, but you'll alone accept admission to the antivirus scanner. While Norton is the added best big-ticket on our list, its complete alms compels us to accord it our cardinal one recommendation.
App 2: Sophos Adaptable Security
Sophos Adaptable Security is the alone absolutely chargeless antivirus and security apartment on our list. However, admitting its chargeless amount tag, Sophos somehow managed to absorb added affection than all but one app on our list.
Sophos offers real-time antivirus aegis with the adeptness to agenda automatic scans. While Sophos doesn't acquiesce users to browse apps beforehand, its 100% apprehension amount will abstract any malware and active you afore any above accident occurs on your device.
Sophos can action added protections to added apps by acute a passcode (or fingerprint) to admission your app vault. You can additionally ascendancy the adroitness aeon afore affidavit is required. This is a abundant security affection if your accessory isn't consistently in your possession.
What makes Sophos altered is the added appearance accepted as "Security tools." Sophos offers an authenticator to accommodate multi-factor authentication, a defended another to appliance SMS. There is a countersign administrator to defended and administer all your passwords for your assorted accounts. There is alike a defended QR cipher scanner for the few times you will charge one.
Finally, there is Aloofness Adviser and Security Advisor, which appraise your accessory and accomplish suggestions to advice advance all-embracing security. The Aloofness Adviser looks at app permissions and gives you an abstraction of which permissions should be disabled, while the Security Adviser goes through a anniversary of appearance and sensors that your accessory should accept enabled or disabled for optimal security. With the barring of Bitdefender, no added app on our anniversary has these features.
The abridgement of scanning afore accession is the alone affection preventing Sophos from accepting the top atom on our list. But for those who don't apperception abrogation that action to Play Protect (despite its low apprehension rate), Sophos is a abundant action that consolidates a few altered security apps into one chargeless bundle.
App 3: Trend Micro Adaptable Security & Antivirus
Trend Micro Adaptable Security & Antivirus is a abundant security suite. It's a bit big-ticket at $29.99 a year, but it does action a altered appraisement options based on the breadth of your cable (for example, it is alone $2.99 per month). However, its abridgement of a few appearance is the capital acumen it is cardinal three on our list.
Besides Norton, Trend Micro is the alone app on our anniversary that offers pre-installation scanning. Accumulated with its real-time scanning, appointed scanning, and 100% apprehension rate, Trend Micro offers complete antivirus protection.
Similar to added apps on our list, it does action Web and Wi-Fi Protection. However, altered to Trend Micro is a action that protects you while appliance accepted agent apps. It's bound to Line, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, but Trend Micro can accord you alerts if you accept a awful articulation in a message.
Trend Micro additionally offers an appraisal of your Facebook anniversary aloofness settings — afterwards evaluation, users will be prompted to accomplish changes to aerate aegis of their privacy.
Anti-Theft Aegis is available, including the adeptness to booty a abstruse photo with the front-facing camera afterwards a set cardinal of incorrect affidavit attempts (the minimum is three attempts). The photo will be emailed to your account, which you can again accommodate to bounded law administration to advice retrieve your device. However, clashing the added apps on this list, users can't accidentally affair commands via SMS.
The accession of this app was difficult. While it pre-installation scanning was enticing, ultimately, it came bottomward to features. Its abridgement of SMS commands accumulated with its aerial anniversary amount tag is why we accept this app is admirable of cardinal three on our list.
App 4: Bitdefender Adaptable Security & Antivirus
Let me alpha by adage that Bitdefender Adaptable Security & Antivirus has apparently the cleanest architecture out of all the apps on our list. Aeronautics occurs appliance the hamburger menu, appearance are able-bodied described, and achievement is quick and smooth.
Bitdefender is additionally the second-cheapest security suite, with a annual cable costing alone $14.95. There is alike a account cable for $1.49 if you don't appetite to accomplish a abiding commitment. So why is it aftermost on our list? Put simply, it's not absolutely as fully-featured as some of the added apps here.
Overall, Bitdefender and Trend Micro are close. Their affection sets are about identical, admitting Trend Micro gets a slight leg up acknowledgment to its pre-installation scanning. With this feature, Trend Micro has every affection offered by Google Play Protect and can absolutely alter the app. Bitdefender users, on the added hand, would still accept to depend on Play Protect for that protection.
However, Bitdefender does accept a few things activity for it for those who don't apperception accident the pre-installation scanning. Clashing Trend Micro, Bitdefender allows alien controls via SMS. This affection is decidedly advantageous back users will commonly be able to get a argument bulletin out faster than appliance the browser. That added time can accomplish abiding your accessory is bound bottomward and your abstracts is adequate if you anytime appear to lose your phone.
Bitdefender additionally has a abundant aloofness adviser that describes in detail all the aloofness risks associated with the apps installed on your device. While some risks are unnecessarily apparent (such as a browser's adeptness to address and apprehend your browsing history), it does accomplish it easier for users to ascendancy the permissions accepted to apps.
If you don't apperception accident the adeptness to browse apps beforehand, there is a case to be fabricated for allotment Bitdefender over Trend Micro. It's about bisected the price, has bigger design, and allows users to accidentally ascendancy their smartphones with argument messages. However, because of how important pre-installation scanning is to the security of smartphones, we acclaim Trend Micro over Bitdefender.
Conclusion
Each of these antivirus and security suites offers abundant added than Google Play Protect. They all accommodate anti-theft protection, backpack virus scanners (with two including the adeptness to browse apps afore installation), and best importantly, they all action 100% apprehension ante compared to Play Protect's ratings of 44.5% and 66.3%. So while Play Protect has the accessibility of actuality built-in, its disability to ascertain malware is too poor to trust.
With its aggregate of affluence of use, an all-encompassing affection list, and the adeptness to browse apps beforehand, Norton Security and Antivirus is our best for best antivirus app. Norton does aggregate Play Protect can do and added — the alone downside is its cost.
For our readers who don't ambition to pay $14.99 a year, Sophos Adaptable Security offers aggregate Norton does, but after the adeptness to browse apps afore installation. Sophos is ad-free and includes several appearance not begin in any added app on our list, so the actuality that it's absolutely chargeless places it able-bodied advanced of the aftermost two entries in our list.
What do you anticipate of our list? Which antivirus and security apartment app do you use? Did we change your apperception about depending on Google Play Protect? Let us apperceive in the comments below.
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