14 DAY TRIAL // If you’re on Android and just want to install apps from all sources without getting your device infected by malware, you’re probably looking for a capable antivirus product to block compromised APK files.
And while there are a lot of security products on the Google Play Store, not all of them are worth installing, and new research conducted by German antivirus testing lab AV-TEST comes to lend you a hand figuring out which ones you should try out.
Carried out on Android 8.0, the test evaluates the protection, usability, and features of 20 mobile security apps for Android, including Google’s very own Play Protect that comes bundled by default.
Unsurprisingly, the best apps are the ones that have always ranked the highest, including here Avast Mobile Security, AVG Antivirus, Bitdefender Mobile Security, Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, Sophos Mobile Security, and Trend Micro Mobile Security.
Don’t just rely on third-party security
You can check out the full results in the graph attached to the article to see the other antivirus apps that topped the charts in this new research.
The antivirus products that scored the maximum rating got 6 points for protection, another 6 points for usability, and 1 point for features, with a final score of 13 points.
The lowest score goes to none other than Google Play Protect, which received 0 points for protection and features and just 5.5 points for usability.
As for third-party apps published on the Google Play store that disappointed in this research, it’s the so-called iNetCop OnVaccine, which scored a final rating of just 8.5 points. It got 5 points for protection, 3.5 points for usability, and 0 points for the features it comes equipped with by default.
Certainly, running antivirus solutions on your Android phone won’t fully protect you against malware, so make sure that you always install apps from trusted sources. Softpedia offers an ever-growing collection of APK files that are completely clean and always updated to the latest version.