Avast is one of the antivirus that offers the best protection and performance on mobile. However, considering a recent report on the data collection it makes and selling it to advertisers, you probably want to do without its Android app. Fortunately, some versions of this system, such as the one brought by Samsung devices, have practically the majority of Avast Antivirus functions, so in my case I see the use of this application unnecessary.
If you are not aware of the above data usage issue, when you open the Avast application and accept its terms, you are accepting a license agreement that includes this “You acknowledge that the Seller – or any member of the Seller group – may share their Data with the partners of the Seller ». In this case the “Seller” is Avast. According to Motherboard and PCMag, among the data that Avast collects from you are searches on Google, Google Maps, views of YouTube videos, visits to pornographic sites, what you are looking for there, with date and time.
Avast features I found on my Samsung Galaxy
My Samsung Galaxy S7 does not bring one but two factory antivirus. If two!
- Application analysis : Play Store, Settings, Play Protect. Samsung also incorporates McAfee antivirus in Settings, Device maintenance, Security, Scan device. I don’t think you want to add a third antivirus to your computer.
- Release Ram : Recent button, «Close all» (you should not use this option frequently because it would be counterproductive).
- Clean Trash (Get rid of unwanted data): Settings, Device Maintenance, Storage, Clean.
- WiFi Speed : Measures the speed of the Internet connection, something that you can also do precisely with online services such as Fast.com or Speedtest.net (in this case, first activate the “Desktop version” in the browser settings) . To measure the speed of the WiFi you must go to Settings, Connections, WiFi, keep your finger on the network, Manage network settings, Show advanced options, Network speed.
- Anti Theft : Settings, Google, Security, Find my device. my.avast.com: android.com/find
- Photo store : Settings, Lock Screen and Security, Private mode.
- WiFi Security : This option analyzes the WiFi encryption and password of the router. If you enter the configuration of your router from the browser (check the access data on the back of your router), you will be able to verify that the encryption is «WPA2» and also change the access password.
- Application details. Use : Add the «Activities» widget and in the list of options look for «Usage statistics». If your launcher does not have this widget, install Nova Launcher and check your widgets again. Data : Settings, Connections, Data usage, Mobile data usage. Permissions : Settings, Applications, Application permissions.
- Call Blocker : Phone, Settings, Block numbers.
- Energy saving : Settings, Maintenance, Battery. Here you can manually activate battery saver, control applications that consume a lot of battery or disable its operation in the background, etc.
- Hidden cache : Settings, Applications, Application name, Clear Cache. To clear the system cache, go to Settings, Device maintenance, Clear. Another way to clear the system cache is from the recovery mode.
What Android does not have
Firewall : This feature requires root and is generally used to protect you from unauthorized incoming connections.
Application lock : Samsung does not have an app locker that supplants this function, beyond the lock screen. Other brands like Xiaomi do incorporate it. There are some apps that offer their own blocking option, such as WhatsApp.
VPN connection : Included in Avast Ultimate, which costs $ 20 a year. If you can’t or want to pay, but you can get several free VPNs for Android, like Tunnel Bear.
File scanner: Although Android doesn’t have the option to scan files in batch, you can use virustotal.com to scan individual files, not only with one but with multiple antivirus at the same time.
Sources : AV-Test, Avast, Lifehacker
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