As smartphones have become an inherent part of our lives, people no longer use their phones just for communication. Instead, they store most of their sensitive information on their phones. But, in this era of data leaks and constant threats to your privacy, is it safe to store your private data on your phone? Well, not unless it is secured with proper protection. So, we have picked a list of the best free Android antivirus apps which are available in the Google Play store. All of these antivirus apps, except 360 Security, are tested and approved by the AV-TEST Institute, which is an independent IT-Security institute. You’re advised to go through our list of if you’re a desktop user (Windows or Mac).
AVG AntiVirus for Android guards your mobile phone against malware attacks and threats to your privacy. We give you on-the-go protection against unsafe apps, anti-theft locker & tracker, and plenty more security and performance features.
Note: This list isn’t in order of preference, and is only a compilation. You are advised to choose one as per your need. 11 Best Android Antivirus Apps for 2018 1. Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus Kaspersky is a remarkable security app and one of the best antivirus apps for Android. According to AV-Test, it is excellent at picking up on malware with 99.9% detection rate. It has a free version with in-app premium feature purchases and a paid version. The free version features manually scanning of apps for malware and viruses, and its premium features include real-time protection, anti-theft, anti-phishing, and an app locker to provide extra protection to your essential apps.
However, you can access all the premium features for a free trial for 30 days. Avast Mobile Security Avast protects a lot of users worldwide on multiple platforms.
This antivirus giant has a free app for Android users which has over 100 million downloads in the Play Store. With a single tap, the antivirus engine scans for any dangerous or infected apps and trojans, and provide complete protection against spyware and viruses.
It has some in-app purchases with which you can remove ads and access the app locking facility, along with some other advanced features like SIM security, camera trap, etc. However, the free version itself integrates some extra features such as call blocker, Anti-theft, power saver, RAM booster, Junk Cleaner, Firewall for a rooted Android device, Web shield, Wi-fi scanner, and a photo vault which allows you to secure your private photos with a PIN code. With all these fantastic features, Avast Mobile security is a worthy contender for best free antivirus for Android. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Bitdefender Antivirus Free is powerful antivirus tool that offers protection against all major Android threats. It is one of the most lightweight antivirus apps that uses in-the-cloud scanning technology that results in super-fast scanning ability.
It does not slow down your device or drain your battery. The app also offers real-time protection and scan apps as they are installed. Bitdefender also has a paid version (Bitdefender Mobile Security & Antivirus), which gives you 14 days of free trial.
To access more advanced features of Bitdefender such as Malware scanner, account privacy, web security, Anti-theft, and App locker, you can try out the paid version. Norton Security & Antivirus The latest version of Norton antivirus software offers impressive Android security features even in the free version. The app mostly provides 100% detection rate and removes malware, spyware, or Android viruses that can slow down your device. It can trigger an alarm to find your missing device, remotely lock your device to prevent data theft, or block unwanted calls or SMS. It also has separate stand-alone apps such as app locker and password manager which are available for free in the Play Store.
The advanced premium features are available for a trial period of 30 days. Overall, Norton Security is no doubt one of the most reliable and best antivirus for android. Sophos Mobile Security Sophos is the former winner of the AV-TEST awards. It is an excellent free security app which does not display any ads and is fully featured. In addition to proper malware protection, you can have access to loss and theft protection, web filtering that blocks illegal sites, app locker, security adviser that gives you advice on how to improve device security, call blocker, authenticator, etc. It can also scan for malicious URLs, and set up a secure Wi-Fi connection to warn you against insecure encryption.
Security Master Security Master is the upgraded version of the original CM Security. It is an all-in-one antivirus app that has a considerable number of downloads along with a good rating in the Play Store.
It keeps your phone safe from all sorts of malware and makes sure that no viruses get into your phone. The free version itself brings you tons of great security features such as app locker, scanner, message security, Wi-Fi security, junk cleaner, notification cleaner, phone booster, CPU cooler, battery saver, call blocker, etc. Along with these, it also enables you to browse any of your favorite sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Safely from within the app. Security Master is an excellent security app that can be listed among best free android antivirus apps. McAfee Mobile Security & Lock McAfee has won many notable awards since its release.
Most of the advanced features such as anti-theft features, security lock, Wi-Fi security, battery optimizer, memory cleaner, etc. Are available in the free version of the application. It has an intuitive interface, and the best thing is that it provides tutorials for every feature.
The pro version, however, comes down to only a few extra features, and it is expensive compared to most Antivirus apps. According to AV-Test, McAfee provides 99.5% malware detection rate, and you can also schedule the scanner to run every day at a particular time, weekly, or even enable it to run in the background. One of the flaws in the app is that it carries a complicated setup once you opt for the pro version. Nevertheless, the app is a trustworthy antivirus apps for Android.
DFNDR Security DFNDR is one such free antivirus for Android that keeps your smartphone’s performance optimized. The AV-TEST Institute named it a top-rated antivirus app. It is an all-in-one phone protection app along with features for anti-hacking and anti-phishing. It can also speed up your internet connection by closing background apps that compete for bandwidth. However, the downside is that it displays ads which can be annoying, but you can go ad-free with a small amount of yearly subscription. Avira Antivirus Security Avira Antivirus is a lesser-known Android security app which is equally reliable like its other competitors on the list.
It is fully-featured, and most of its functions are available in the free version itself. In case of antivirus and privacy protection, it can even scan external storage units and show how each app rates on a privacy scale. With the ‘cell phone tracker,’ it can track your phone’s location whenever necessary. Also, if you ever lose your phone, it can prompt the person who has your phone to contact you. With the premium version, you can get extra protection such as camera protection, additional browser security, etc. These features can be easily bought from the in-app purchases of the app. AVG AntiVirus AVG AntiVirus is a robust antivirus software tool, developed by AVG Technologies which is a subsidiary of Avast software.
It features most of the standard functions necessary in modern anti-virus and internet security programs such as periodic scans, Wi-Fi security, junk cleaner, ram booster, call blocker, power saver, etc. Some highly useful features are only available for a trial period of 14 days. AVG also has a few add-on apps such as AVG Cleaner, AVG secure VPN, Alarm Clock Xtreme, and Gallery app available in the Play Store for free. 360 Security 360 Security is another best antivirus for Android.
It is highly trusted by many users and has a massive number of downloads. This app gives you many reasons for why it should be a must-have app on your phone.
Major features include antivirus protection, junk cleaner, speed booster, lock screen which has multiple functions, CPU cooler, anti-theft protection, etc. In addition to real-time protection, it integrates an Intruder Selfie feature that instantly snaps a photo of anyone who tries to break into your device, and also has a fingerprint lock system. The app is free with in-app purchases and displays ads.
Did you find this list of 11 Best Android antivirus apps to be helpful? Share your reviews in the comments. You might find these interesting:.
Some argue that you don't need antivirus software if you just stay away from sketchy websites and email attachments. Unfortunately, there's a large cottage industry dedicated to deceiving people into inviting malware onto their computers. Think of antivirus software as your digital seatbelt: You don't strictly need it most of the time, but if you ever do, it can really save your bacon.
And usually it has a negligible impact on your computer's performance. Here's how to evaluate your Windows antivirus options and find the right app for you. Free or paid? You may wonder why products like, or ask you to pay $25 to $75 for an annual subscription when it looks like you can a pretty good antivirus app for free. Well, that money usually pays for better protection, judging by the independent tests run. The paid versions tend to scan faster, produce more accurate findings, and have a lower impact on system performance.
The quality gap between free and paid apps is not large, but if you shop around, you can pick up a year's subscription for $20 or less. We found McAfee 2016 Total Protection on Amazon for $19.99, and it will protect all your compatible devices (although the iOS version doesn't scan for viruses, because Apple doesn't give app developers that much access to the OS). That's less than $2 per month, and you don't have to juggle device licensing. Also, security isn't just about infected files., from adware to phishing scams, and antivirus apps vary in what they defend against. For example, the major antimalware vendors maintain databases of website URLs that are flagged as suspect or hostile. These databases take time and money to maintain, so you don't usually get phishing protection in the free version of the app.
Also, it's hard to develop a scanning engine that recognizes new malware that does not yet have an official fingerprint, or that can correctly conclude that a location is not infected - false alarms can cause unneeded stress and costly downtime. An engine with a high level of detection intelligence is expensive. So you might think of the difference between a free antivirus suite and a paid one as being like the difference between a lap belt in your car and a five-point harness: Both will spare you from serious injury most of the time, but the second one will clearly do better in a worst-case scenario. All the major security software publishers offer trial versions of their software, so you can test-drive them yourself to decide what you need and what you don't.
Updates Updating your OS and your software is one of the best defenses against malware. You need to keep your security app current to make sure you have the latest virus definitions. To make that easier, security publishers are increasingly switching to rolling releases rather than annual releases of their software. You no longer need to buy a new version every year, nor do you have to wait for major new features.
As long as you have a subscription, you will always get the latest version. There's no 'last year's model' that you unknowingly buy right before the better one comes out. Even free antivirus software has been transitioning to rolling releases lately. Privacy Is the app transparent about information it may collect about you? Some antimalware suites record user data and send it to the software publisher. For example, Norton's Community Watch feature uses 'information on running processes, visited URLs, or general system information from your computer when Norton detects a possible risk.'
This data is anonymized to protect your privacy, but if you don't want to send any info at all, you can disable the feature in the administrative settings. Leaving Community Watch enabled gives researchers more information for identifying new malware and figuring out ways to stop it before it becomes a widespread problem. Security How secure is the antivirus software itself? A feature we don't see often enough is the ability to password-protect the app. This can prevent other people from fiddling with your settings, but it also confirms that you really want to shut down or uninstall the software.
A lot of malware attempts to disable your protection, and passwords throw up a roadblock. Norton and McAfee suites normally have this feature, but it isn't enabled by default. Also, you may occasionally need to pause malware detection to install other software.
Applications that need low-level access to your operating system can get blocked by your antimalware software, which recognizes suspicious behavior as well as suspicious files. Perhaps ironically, installing a new antivirus app is likely to make your current antivirus app throw up a red flag. Unrecognized files with an EXE file extension may get outright deleted by your antimalware suite if you attempt to open them. Some antimalware apps have only an on-off toggle for pausing detection, but the more premium suites like Kaspersky, Norton, and McAfee give you more options, such as automatically turning themselves back on after a set amount of time, in case you forget. Support Does the app speak to you in plain English or industry jargon? As a rule, antivirus software is 'set it and forget it': You install the app, and it works in the background.
If you want to customize your scans, the app should explain its settings in layman's terms. Pretty much every antimalware app seems to dump some of its documentation on the Web. There are pros and cons to this approach: It keeps the user interface lean and means that you can browse explanations without having to install the software; however, you can't access the info if you've been knocked offline. More Resources.