14 DAY TRIAL // As it turns out, more and more infected apps land in the Google Play Store, despite the fact that this was supposed to be a safe place for Android users, so antivirus products or security software become nearly mandatory on Google’s mobile operating system.
And a research conducted by security institute AV-TEST reveals the best antivirus solutions for Android, helping you decide which one you should pick if committed to increased data security on your phone.
Just like it’s the case with Windows antivirus software, the results pretty much speak for themselves: a total of 7 different security products got the maximum points, with perfect scores for performance and usability. Security products from Tencent, Symantec, Sophos, G Data, Cheetah, Bitdefender, and Antiy are the ones leading the pack, while AhnLab, McAfee, and Trend Micro come pretty close.
Kaspersky and ESET close to maximum score
Kaspersky, which has long been one of the leading security vendors on desktops and mobile device, has also scored well during the latest round of tests, achieving 99.8 percent detection rate in real world testing and 99.9 percent overall detection rate.
The security software built by Chinese firm NSHC and called Droid-X 3 got the lowest score, with 91.9 percent detection rate in real-word tests, and 94.8 percent overall detection rate.
ESET Mobile Security & Antivirus received 5.5 points (out of a maximum of 6) for protection, 6 points for usability, and 1 out of 1 for features, getting pretty close to the leaders in the charts, but still letting some malware samples get through.
In the end, choosing one powerful antivirus shouldn’t be such a big problem, especially because no less than 7 different solutions got the maximum score in these tests.
But at the same time, just like it’s the case on Windows PCs, one of the best ways to stay away from malware is to always download applications from trusted sources and even though the Google Play Store is supposed to be a safe pace, always have a look at the number of downloads, user reviews, and the other information that could expose a compromised app.
