Google’s solution scores worst in the latest antivirus tests

Mar 10, 2020 08:33 GMT  ·  By

Google’s providing Android devices with built-in anti-malware protection when downloading apps from the Play Store, but according to recent antivirus tests, you’d better not count on this service exclusively to stay away from malware.

German antivirus test organization AV-TEST has conducted new research to evaluate Android security products, and it discovered that Google Play Protect scored worst in all tests.

The most popular security solutions on Android were pitted against nearly 6,700 malware apps to determine the protection, performance, and usability of each product.

The apps that impressed with a total score of 18 points out of a maximum of 18 were security apps from Avira, Bitdefender, G Data, Kaspersky, NortonLifeLock, SK Telecom and Trend Micro.

Google Play Protect, on the other hand, received only 6 points after scoring zero points in protection and usability tests.

Google Play Protect offers the worst protection

When it comes to the protection tests, the researchers evaluated real-time performance with infected apps that were less than 24 hours old. Apps from Antiy, Bitdefender, Cheetah Mobile, NortonLifeLock, Trend Micro and Kaspersky offered nearly perfect performance, while Google Play Protect detected only 37% and 33.1% of the apps, leading to zero points overall.

False positives aren’t uncommon, but in most of the cases, the top vendors offered nearly flawless performance here as well. Google’s product, on the other hand, mistakenly flagged 30 harmless apps as being a threat, the research shows.

“As the detection rates of Google Play Protect are really quite poor, the use of a good security app is highly recommended. The range of apps tested offers a wide selection of reliable and battery-friendly security apps. The apps with the maximum point score of 18 are all paid apps with annual license fees, but that ought to be worthwhile to users in exchange for their security. While free apps are still included in the test, they are currently in the lower half of the table,” AV-TEST explains.

However, in addition to security products installed on an Android device, users should also pay close attention to the apps they download by checking the app’s ratings, reviews, and the developer name, as this information can often help determine if there’s something fishy about a specific app.