Norton Mobile Security for Android (opens in new tab) offers a wealth of features, including an App Advisor which is powered by Norton Mobile Insight, and vets apps for any possible privacy risks, or other unwanted behavior like being overly taxing on your battery (you can even get these evaluations before you install an application, which is very handy).
Head straight to the Bitdefender website to see more and sign up (opens in new tab)
There are a lot of features on offer here, then, and the asking price is more than reasonable to cover a single Android device for a year (plus if you want to give the app a spin before you buy, there’s a 14-day free trial available). It’s also possible to completely wipe the device remotely if you so choose. The provided version is restricted to extremely light use at just 200MB daily, but still, that could be useful in a pinch.Īs mentioned, there are anti-theft capabilities here, and Bitdefender Mobile Security allows you to remotely locate and lock your device, or send a message to the phone or tablet (which could be very useful if you’ve lost it). There’s also a nifty privacy advisor tool that adds a layer of security to your smartwatch via its WearOn technology, which alerts you if you accidentally leave your phone behind - clever stuff.Īnother interesting extra is a bundled VPN, although don’t get too excited.
If you’d like to read more about the AV-TEST evaluation, check out the full report.Mobile Security gives you real-time protection for Google’s Chrome browser, and an autopilot feature that claims to be capable of making intelligent recommendations for security actions depending on your system and typical usage pattern. The lab called attention to several of AVG’s bells and whistles: the anti-theft feature of locating, locking, or wiping your device remotely, call blocker, app lock, and Wi-Fi security. Extra layersĪdditional security features and extra layers reinforce your defenses. Coupled with the performance part of the test, this gave AVG a perfect score in the area of usability. AV-TEST launched over 2,000 legitimate files from the Google Play Store and other third-party app stores at the device, and whereas the industry average was 10 false warnings, AVG had zero. Letting the right files in is just as important as keeping the bad ones out. These occur when your antivirus mistakenly thinks safe programs are malicious.
The software does its job without any noticeable sap of the device’s power. AV-TEST looked for slowdowns, battery drain, and traffic creation, and found that AVG Antivirus Free did none of those things. A crackerjack antivirus is not much help if slows your phone’s response time down to a crawl. PerformanceĪnother important factor of your cybersecurity is performance compromise - as in, you do NOT want your device’s performance compromised.
With a detection rate better than industry average, AVG earned a perfect score on this section of the test. The lab also attacked the device with over 3,000 samples of other Android malware, tasking the security software to detect them in real-time scenarios. AV-TEST challenged AVG with over 3,000 samples of real-world malware discovered over the previous four weeks, and AVG detected 100% of them. Detectionįor a security product to be strong in protection, it must first be sharp in detection. The tests revolved around the areas of detection, performance, and false warnings, as well as additional features and security layers. AV-TEST examined 20 leading-brand mobile security products, which included AVG Antivirus Free.