Question Free great antivirus for android?

[Studynxx]

Do any big name antivirus vendors offer great antivirus for android for free? Kaspersky Free's issue (on android) is it doesn't have active virus protection, only on-demand.

 

[Digmor Crusher]

Bitdefender

 

[Studynxx]

Bitdefender

Is it real-time protection on the FREE plan, or on-demand only?

 

[Wrecker4923]

The free Bitdefender seems to be on-demand and on-install scanning. The non-free version claims to do more, but with non-root access, it still probably can do less than Google Play Store itself. I treat the free ones as second-opinion scanners anyway, but with Google being so effective (according to VT), they seem to be rather redundant.

 

[Moonhorse]

Sophos, avg, avast has free antiviruses that has realtime protection aswell

Choose sophos if you want bit more privacy and no advertising in app, its completely free. Just enable pua/pup protection & scan for less reputable apps option too, i guess its the one youre looking for

 

[Trident]

Majority of risks for Android come when users download questionable apps from the store or sideload.
Google removes malicious apps, but often it is done post-factum. The control is not as tight as iOS.

In addition to installing antivirus as Sophos, do the following, to ensure your device is not at risk:

Avoid sideloading apps, always download from the store. Be specially suspicious about cracked/modded apps that bypass software paywalls.
When downloading from the store, ensure you are downloading popular apps and games from trusted developers. Avoid apps like wallpaper downloaders, optimisers, flash lights and so on.
Bitdefender detected the following apps as malicious in a blog post, notice the names (none of them sound like something essential or worth installing)

* AFL Wallpapers 4K (com.contec.aflwallpapers4k)
* All (com.deadsimpleapps.all)
* App Facil (com.devindie.appfacil)
* Ram App (book.com.ram.app)
* Alamin Care CTG App (com.alamincarectg.app)
* Russia 2018 Stickers (stickers.russia2018)
* Connect Animals OK (net.playtouch.connectanimalsok)
* iHub Mobile (com.advfn.Android.ihubmobile)
* CPCC Go (edu.cpcc.go)
* Class 3 PDF (com.ik.class3pdf)
* Amin Rostami (ir.amin.rostami)
* Apyar Car Download (com.fhuchudev.apyarcardownload)
* Mega Sena (com.kacyano.megasena)
* Tie Dye Neon Weed Keyboard Theme (com.ikeyboard.theme.tiedye.neon.weed)
* Auto Refresh Any Website (studio.harpreet.autorefreshanywebsite)
* Auto Web Page Reloader 2022 (com.mdpabhel.autowebpagereloader2022)
* USSD S11 (uz.pdp.ussds11)

Ensure that your device is always up-to-date.
Use secure DNS to block access to malicious websites.

 

[Divergent]

I've been following your posts on this topic. Given the choices you're making, I think you'd find my post on habits highly relevant.

Serious Discussion - A Habit based Guide for Mobile Security

Your smartphone is a portable hub for your personal and professional life, making it a prime target for cybercriminals. This guide focuses on the simple, yet crucial, habits that will protect your mobile device and the sensitive data it holds. 1. Secure Your Device Physically The first line of...

malwaretips.com

 

[Zartarra]

Sophos Intercept X is not a bad choice. Their Android app is great, good protection and give you some nice features and options without other "crap" as in other products.

 

[CyberDevil]

With this basic set-up, I don't really worry about where I'm getting the software from.

 

[Divergent]

With this basic set-up, I don't really worry about where I'm getting the software from.

This is a community-driven VT app for Android that's more effective and less of a strain on your system. It scans both personal and system apps.

VirusTotal Mobile - Apps on Google Play

VirusTotal is a service that analyses suspicious files and URLs

play.google.com

 

[Moonhorse]

With this basic set-up, I don't really worry about where I'm getting the software from.

Youre missing trend micro otherwise youre good to go

 

[CyberDevil]

Youre missing trend micro otherwise youre good to go

As far as I know, Trend Micro no longer has any free version, even for scanning. Correct me if I'm wrong. There used to be Trend Micro Dr. Safety a pretty good app, but its support was discontinued. Anyway, with Trend Micro, any modification is considered a virus, which doesn’t work for me.

 

[TairikuOkami]

AV for android, that just feels ... weird.

 

[stonjean633]

As far as I know, Trend Micro no longer has any free version, even for scanning. Correct me if I'm wrong. There used to be Trend Micro Dr. Safety a pretty good app, but its support was discontinued. Anyway, with Trend Micro, any modification is considered a virus, which doesn’t work for me.

Dr safety and Dr safety lite are not in the Play Store but if you have access to the APK, it still works. Still receiving updates and I'm still using it as secondary scanner.