Do I need an antivirus for my cell phone? If that is the case, what is the best application that can be downloaded for this task?
Android and the Play Store itself have antivirus protection. This is supposed to keep you safe, at least if you only download apps from this store. Google has stated this a couple of times. However, repeatedly, the company has had to remove malware from there, which had already been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.
If the user is not even sure downloading apps from the Play Store, what can be expected if he dares to download an APK from any site on the Internet? An antivirus might help you be calmer about it.
The best Android antivirus
To find the best antivirus for Android today, it is best to refer to the experts on this topic. In other words, AV Test , a website specialized in analyzing antivirus programs for different platforms, including Android.
AV Test rates the level of protection of the antivirus, as well as the usability. This second aspect is just as critical as the first, because it tells us if the antivirus app slows down the phone, consumes a lot of battery or uses too much mobile data.
Fortunately, there are several antivirus applications that have an outstanding rating in both respects (6/6), and have the AV Test quality certification. As of the writing of this article, we found several recognized firms here, such as BitDefender , Kaspersky , McAfee or Norton . Several of these products have 100% detection without false positives. There are many other antivirus that are just the opposite and are insecure.
In case you need to resort to an antivirus sometime, choose any of these (you only have to install one app at a time to avoid conflicts) to scan your device for viruses or malware.
It is interesting to note how Google’s security for Android (Play Protect) has a rating of zero in terms of protection.
Total virus
Why use a single antivirus when you can use several? VirusTotal, by Google, is a tool that uses various antivirus engines to scan your phone on demand for malicious apps.
It also serves to scan files or APKs and URLs directly from the mobile, although these last two things can also be done online from the browser.
Uninstall the antivirus
Your phone is probably relatively safer with a permanently installed antivirus app. But at what cost? You need to carefully monitor the operation of your cell phone with and without the antivirus app. Despite AV Test’s usability rating, an antivirus will always be a demanding mobile app, whatever it may be.
Personally, I only use antivirus apps to do a scan every now and then or only if I suspect malware on my phone. After checking that everything is fine, I uninstall it.
Downloading apps only from the Play Store is a good rule of thumb to stay acceptably safe (even though this store is not 100% trustworthy). In the case of APK files, only download from reliable sources, such as APKmirror.com or F-Droid.org or you can even extract them from Google Play itself. If you doubt a file, use VirusTotal.com to analyze it. If you keep these tips in mind, you shouldn’t have to live with an antivirus installed on your Android.
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