The modern world is filled with dangers. You can’t let your guard down for a moment. Whether it’s a stranger who wants to steal your money, or a virus that wants to eat up all your data, the threats are there. And if you don’t have a way to protect yourself, you’re vulnerable.
Luckily, there are apps available that can help keep you safe and secure in today’s digital ecosystem.
This article will discuss some of the best security apps available on Android phones today and why they’re so effective at keeping you safe from harm.
Best Apps For Security On Android
These vulnerabilities arise due to a lack of security updates. The Internet is never safe when they are connected to the web. Safety is a primary concern these days, and many third-party applications have strived to enhance it.
The following apps will help you to protect your Android devices from online identity & security threats.
Avast Mobile Security
Avast is a great app to provide your Android phone protection against viruses coupled with many other threats.
Avast is one of the world’s most trusted free antivirus for Android, which alerts you when spyware, adware get installed and violate your privacy.
The detection rate of the latest Android malware is about 99.9% and is around 100% of malware detected in the last four weeks.
Verdict: If malware and safe browsing are your primary concern, this app is appropriate for you.
Malwarebytes
Safeguard your Android devices from ransomware, malware, and other threats using the advanced protection of Malwarebytes.
It can efficiently detect dangerous threats and remove them before your device gets compromised. Malwarebytes offers real-time shields and scans for even the sophisticated phishing URLs while you use the Chrome browser. It also alerts you in case it detects anything suspicious to ensure a safe browsing experience.
The application conducts periodic privacy audits by identifying access permissions of your apps installed on your phone or tablet. You can track those apps tracking your location, costing you hidden fees, or monitoring your calls. Malwarebytes can quickly search all your files for malware and potentially harmful programs, including adware, screen lockers, etc.
It supports Android versions 6.0 or higher and languages like English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, German, Indonesian, Polish, and Portuguese.
Want to try out?
Malwarebytes offers a 30-day free trial with all the premium features. You can buy its starting plan for $3.33/month for one device, or choose a higher plan for more devices.
VIPRE
One of the popular security apps – VIPRE Android Security, is a great alternative. It puts the security of your device first by safeguarding it from 20,000+ known malware and viruses for Androids.
This security app is packed with powerful features such as up-to-date Malware Scanner with the most recent intel on different viruses. It automatically scans all your apps after you install them. Its Web Protection can detect malicious stuff while you are busy exploring the web.
The Anti-Theft feature can geo-locate, lock, sound alarms, and wipe the phone or tablet from other devices connected through the internet. The all-new Autopilot works as your security advisor, which provides deep insights into device security status. VIPRE Android Security offers total account privacy by allowing you to run a check to determine whether your credentials are safe or not.
While using a secure Wi-Fi like your home Wi-Fi, its Smart Unlock permits you to access your applications directly if you disable the PIN. With the PIN Timeout feature, you can set a 30-second timeout to your PIN. So, in case someone makes five incorrect attempts consecutively, it shows ‘Timeout’.
The security app also snaps a photo if anyone tries tampering with your device. To use this application, you need to have Android version 5.0 and higher, along with a stable internet connection for cloud threat scanning. Get VIPRE Android Security at just $15.99/year for one device.
Nox
An all-in-one security app, Nox Security, helps you protect your device from malware and various other threats. It’s like having a single weapon that can tackle all the nasty security concerns. This app can:
Keep your phone away from viruses and malware
Protect and lock your apps to prevent privacy breaches
Prevent others from viewing your notifications menu
Block spam and suspicious calls
Apart from these security features, Nox Security also helps you clean junk files, stop power-draining apps, and even protect your phone from Wifi network attacks.
Lookout
As the name suggests, Lookout is literally always on the “lookout” for suspicious activities and threats. For example, it alerts you when the Wifi you’re about to join is dangerous or under attack. Also, it tells you which of your installed apps are accessing your location, contacts, messages, and other data.
Apart from that, it enables safe browsing mode, alerts you about the latest breaches, helps you find your stolen phone, and even lock it so that nobody accesses your information.
There are so many more theft protection, identity theft protection, and security features that’ll make your life quite easier. Be sure to check this one out.
Safe Security
Another similar app that has almost everything you need for protection against viruses, Safe Security, also helps you clean and speed up your device. Apart from the threat protection that it already offers, this app also has a bunch of other interesting features that you’d love to use. Here are some of them:
Instant selfie click of the person trying to use your phone without consent
Hide useless notifications to stay productive
Password-protect certain apps of your choice
Manual scan of installed apps and files to search for vulnerabilities
Safe Security is trusted by more than 200 million users worldwide and has a ton of raving reviews.
Bouncer
There are some apps that we use only a couple of times or for only a single purpose and then keep it as it is, so in those cases, it doesn’t make much sense to keep the permissions intact. However, generally, there’s no option to remove the permissions, but thankfully there’s an app for it.
Bouncer allows you to keep or remove permissions on demand and even disallow certain actions of the app that may seem inappropriate to you. It also notifies you of any apps on your device that drains your battery fast and those that appear to sell your information to third parties.
Firefox Focus
There’s no better feeling than browsing without fear, and Firefox Focus helps you achieve just that. It’s an amazing browser that blocks a wide range of trackers while also erasing your history, passwords, and cookies.
As a result of blocking unwanted ads and trackers, you’ll be able to browse a lot faster. Since this app is powered by Mozilla, it’s completely free and gives you the basic right of browsing privately. 🙂
Sophos
Sophos is one of the best antivirus apps one could have on Android at an absolutely no cost.
Its user interface may not impress you much. However, its features will surely soothe your mind.
Features:
Virus scanning of installed apps, existing apps, and storage media
Loss and theft protection with the support of remote access which allows the user to wipe, lock, ring, and locate your device.
Web-filtering
Spam blocking
Sophos boasts the latest malware detection rate of 100%, which helps it to stand out from the rest.
Signal Messenger
There are many secure messaging apps. However, most of them work only if both users use the same app.
However, Signal Private Messenger allows you to add an extra layer of security to regular SMS text messages even if one of the users is not using Signal Private Messenger. It is developed by Open Whisper System.
The following are its notable features
Open Source
End to end encryption which means that nothing is stored on its server
can encrypt messages even when any one of the users is not using Signal Private Messenger.
Verdict: If you want an end to end encryption for your regular SMS’, Signal Private Messenger is undoubtedly the best app in the market.
Secure Call
It ensures your calls in such a way that nobody can listen to them. Secure Call provides end to end encryption for your private calls, thus preventing them from being overheard by intruders.
It uses a default phone app to make and receive phone calls. Its Peer to Peer architecture with a robust end to end encryption prevents your calls being stolen by Third parties, including the developers of this app.
Verdict: If you want an end to end encryption for phone calls, use Secure Call.
Find My Device
Find My Device is an improved Android Device Manager that allows you to ring, find, lock your Android device remotely. It also allows you to wipe the device’s entire data if it, by any chance it gets permanently out of your reach.
Many other apps offer this service with its other flagship services.
However, Google is by far the easiest to set up and allows you to log in via someone else Android device manager and wipe data from your device on the go.
Verdict: If you want to access your phone remotely, use Andriod Device Manager.
NoRoot Firewall
Many apps on your Android device might be using and eating up your mobile data unnecessarily.
NoRoot Firewall puts you in control of Internet access for apps without rooting your device. It allows us to choose whether a particular app can access the Internet only over wifi or only over mobile data or neither or both.
Orbot
Orbot is an Android application, a part of the Tor project, which allows you to route all of your traffic through the Tor network.
VPN uses a single server, whereas Tor routes your traffic through various tunnels making sure no traces are left behind. Orbot creates a genuinely private mobile data connection. Data gets encrypted and re-encrypted
Data gets encrypted and re-encrypted multiple numbers of times until it reaches the last network where it gets decrypted, thus preventing the sender from being traced.
LastPass
Remembering passwords these days is quite tricky, with users having multiple accounts online and each account having a different password.
LastPass is one of the best password managers available in the market, which allows you to store passwords of your numerous accounts with extra layers of security.
You can easily access all of your confidential data from any computer or mobile device. Encrypted by a secret master password, all you need to remember is one LastPass password to access all of your passwords.
Verdict: One encrypted step destination for locating all of your passwords.
Conclusion
I hope the above security-specific apps help you keep your Andriod mobile/devices safe and secure. Next, check out some of the best Antivirus for Android.
best free antivirus for android 2022
I tested all of the free antivirus apps in the Google Play Store — after weeks of testing, I only found a few products which I’m confident can keep Androids well-protected against malware.
Most of the free Android antivirus apps I tested were ineffective against malware, filled with annoying ads, or falsely advertised as free — a lot of “free” apps are really just free trials or very limited versions of the premium apps. Some were even fake apps designed to harvest user data!
While I did find a few good free apps, no free app is going to provide all of the security tools you need to keep your Android 100% safe. If you’re looking for an antivirus that can fully protect you and your devices, you’ll need a premium product (I recommend Norton’s fantastic Android app).
But if you only need basic protection, there are a few free Android antivirus apps that are pretty good — offering free real-time or on-demand virus scanning, free anti-theft protections, and a handful of good extra features to strengthen your Android’s mobile security.
Quick summary of the best free Android antivirus apps in 2022:
1.🥇 Norton — Best overall Android antivirus app (up to 60 days risk-free).
2.🥈 Avira — Good range of free features + intuitive Android app.
3.🥉 McAfee — Advanced antivirus with a good Wi-Fi scanner.
- Panda Dome — Good malware scanner with Android smartwatch compatibility.
- Kaspersky — Intuitive app with a good scanner (but no real-time protection).
Comparison of the Best Free Android Antivirus Apps.
How to Choose the Best Free Antivirus App for Your Android.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut.
Frequently Asked Questions about Antivirus Apps for Android.
🥇1. Norton Mobile Security — Advanced Cybersecurity Protections for Android
🥇1. Norton Mobile Security — Advanced Cybersecurity Protections for Android
Norton Mobile Security is hands-down my favorite Android antivirus app in 2022. It offers advanced malware protection and more internet security protections than almost any competitor — but it’s not free. However, you can try all of Norton’s premium mobile features with a 14-day free trial or 60-day money-back guarantee, depending on whether you get the standalone app or one of Norton’s advanced internet security suites.
To keep your Android safe from malicious apps, Norton scans apps before you download them to your device and alerts you in case the apps in question contain viruses and malware. It also scans all of the existing apps on your device and flags apps that collect too much sensitive data, use too much data or battery, or in any other way present a risk to your device or data.
In my tests, Norton’s Android app detected all of the risky apps I had previously installed on my Samsung Galaxy, and it also notified me which of my apps were a privacy risk. Its anti-phishing protection also blocked the vast majority of phishing and malicious links I attempted to open on my phone’s browser.
Norton’s Android app also comes with good Wi-Fi protection that warns you of any unsecured Wi-Fi networks, as well as with a secure VPN and dark web monitoring. Norton’s VPN protects your browsing data with 256-bit AES encryption, maintains fast speeds across most servers, and is able to access most streaming sites. I don’t like that the VPN logs your IP address and that it’s missing DNS and WebRTC leak protection. That said, the VPN is pretty good for an antivirus-bundled VPN, but there are better options out there (if you’re willing to invest in a premium standalone VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN).
Norton Mobile Security is available as a standalone purchase or as part of Norton’s excellent internet security suites. The standalone app costs $14.99 / year and covers just 1 Android device, whereas Norton 360 Deluxe covers up to 5 devices across all operating systems for only $49.99 / year (and is our #1 antivirus suite in 2022). US users should also consider Norton’s LifeLock plans that add identity theft protection and up to $1 million in insurance.
The mobile app comes with a 14-day free trial, and all of Norton’s internet security suites are backed by a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Norton provides the most comprehensive cybersecurity app for Android users — it isn’t just capable of removing all Android malware, but it also scans apps in the Google Play Store before download, ensuring your device doesn’t get infected in the first place. It also comes with useful extras like anti-phishing protection, Wi-Fi security, a VPN, and dark web monitoring. Norton’s Android app is available as a standalone purchase or as part of Norton’s 360 Deluxe and LifeLock plans.
Read the full Norton review >
🥈2. Avira Antivirus Security for Android — Feature-Rich & Easy to Use (Good for New Users)
🥈2. Avira Antivirus Security for Android — Feature-Rich & Easy to Use (Good for New Users)
Avira Antivirus Security for Android has an excellent virus detection and removal engine along with a good range of additional security features. It’s also super-easy to use, making it one of the top choices for new users.
Avira’s free Android app comes with:
App privacy scanner.
Anti-theft protection.
VPN (100 MB daily limit).
Data breach scanner.
Wi-Fi scanner.
Device optimizer.
Avira’s privacy scanner is really good. Similar to Norton, it analyzed all of the apps on my device and notified me which ones had access to my contacts, images, and browsing data. I was pretty surprised to find some free games on my device were actually harvesting my data even when I wasn’t playing them!
Avira’s free plan is pretty good, but it doesn’t have anti-phishing protection. To get anti-phishing protection as well as microphone and camera protection (not available on Android 10), you need to upgrade to Avira’s premium mobile app.
Avira’s premium mobile protections are also all bundled with the excellent Avira Prime antivirus package, which offers coverage for up to 5 devices, including Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS, for $59.99 / year. The Prime package also includes a VPN with no limitations as well as a really good password manager.
Bottom Line:
Avira provides the most features of any free Android antivirus — and they’re all very good, easy to use, and work as promised. In addition to malware protection, Avira comes with anti-theft protections, an app privacy scanner, and Wi-Fi scanner. I also like Avira’s VPN a lot, but 100 MB is a pretty small daily limit. Avira’s paid mobile app adds anti-phishing protection, whereas Avira’s comprehensive Prime package also includes a VPN with no limitations, a password manager, and coverage for multiple devices across all operating systems. Avira’s yearly paid plans all have a risk-free 60-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Avira review >
🥉3. McAfee Security Free — Excellent Antivirus Protection with Wi-Fi Scanning
🥉3. McAfee Security Free — Excellent Antivirus Protection with Wi-Fi Scanning
McAfee Security Free offers advanced malware protection, an app privacy scanner, and a really good Wi-Fi scanner. During my tests, I tried to download both malicious files and apps with spyware and ransomware to my Samsung, and McAfee detected, blocked, and removed all of the malware from my phone.
The app privacy scanner provides information on all of the apps you have installed on your phone. This is similar to Avira and Norton, although McAfee’s privacy scanner is a little less useful.
The Wi-Fi scanner — which analyzes Wi-Fi networks for security — performed really well in all tests. It alerted me whenever I wanted to connect to an unsecured public network so I could switch to a safe network.
Unfortunately, McAfee’s free Android plan lacks some important features that are included in its paid plans — including web protection, a VPN, and dark web monitoring/identity theft protection.
And even the premium Android app no longer has anti-theft protection, which is included with Avira. This is a real shame, as McAfee’s anti-theft tools were the best of any other Android app.
While McAfee’s paid Android app is a bit more expensive than some competitors’ premium apps, if you bundle the Android antivirus app with one of McAfee’s 2-year Total Protection plans, it’s one of the best-value antivirus packages of 2022. Starting at $49.78 / year, Total Protection includes coverage for up to 10 devices across all operating systems, and all McAfee purchases are backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
McAfee’s free antivirus app provides real-time malware scanning and Wi-Fi network monitoring. The scanner detected all malicious files and apps I downloaded to my phone, and the Wi-Fi scanner altered me every time I wanted to connect to an unsecured network. Upgrading to McAfee’s paid app brings you important features like web protection, dark web monitoring, and a VPN. You can also get the premium Android app as part of McAfee’s Total Protection packages that provide coverage for up to 10 devices. All of McAfee’s paid plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full McAfee review here >
- Panda Dome Free Antivirus for Android — Good Antivirus Scanning with Great Smartwatch Compatibility
- Panda Dome Free Antivirus for Android — Good Antivirus Scanning with Great Smartwatch Compatibility
Panda Dome Free Antivirus for Android offers decent antivirus protection, anti-theft features, an app privacy scanner, and a VPN — and most of these features can be operated remotely from an Android Wear smartwatch!
Panda’s real-time scanner didn’t detect as many malicious apps as Norton or McAfee, but it did detect most malware samples, including all ransomware and spyware apps — and I got notifications on my smartwatch every time Panda detected a new piece of malware.
Panda also includes anti-theft features like remote location tracking, data wipe, and device locking. However, its remote selfie camera and alarm features are only available in the paid Android app, which is available as part of Panda’s internet security suites.
Panda Dome also comes with a free VPN, but it only includes 150 MB per day. This is better than Avira, but it’s still barely enough for light browsing. To get the unlimited version of the VPN, you need to upgrade to Panda’s comprehensive Panda Dome Premium antivirus suite ($66.99 / year).
Bottom Line:
Panda’s free Android antivirus app provides real-time malware scanning, anti-theft tools, and convenient compatibility with Android smartwatches. I liked being able to perform malware scans, wipe data remotely, and even track my device’s location from my smartwatch. However, you’ll have to upgrade to Panda’s paid Android plan to get remote selfie capture and alarm tools, along with a spam blocker and app locking tools. Users looking to get a VPN with unlimited data should consider the Panda Dome Premium antivirus package.
Read the full Panda Dome review here >
- Kaspersky Security Free — Easy to Use with Decent On-Demand Virus Scanning
- Kaspersky Security Free — Easy to Use with Decent On-Demand Virus Scanning
Kaspersky Security Free is a decent free internet security app for Android users — and because it only provides a couple of free features, it’s very easy to use. You only need to enable a couple of permissions when you install the app and press the Scan button when you want to check your device for viruses.
Kaspersky provides good on-demand malware detection (it caught most of the malware files during my testing), but it doesn’t provide real-time scanning like McAfee.
It also has free anti-theft protection, which lets you lock your phone and allows you to check its location on the Kaspersky website, your smartwatch, or the Kaspersky desktop app. The anti-theft tools also include remote data wipe, a selfie capture function, and a remote alarm.
There’s also the ability to initiate scans from a smartwatch, which is pretty cool — but its smartwatch integration isn’t as good as Panda Dome’s.
To get real-time protection, anti-phishing and web-filter functions, and app locking tools, you need to upgrade to the premium version of the app — which is available as part of Kaspersky’s premium internet security suites that start at $39.99 / year and offer coverage for multiple devices.
Bottom Line:
Kaspersky offers decent free malware detection and anti-theft protections, but not much else. Unlike the other apps on this list, Kaspersky’s free plan doesn’t have real-time malware scanning — this essential feature is reserved for paying users, who also get access to good web protection and app locking.
Read the full Kaspersky review here >
Comparison of the Best Free Android Antivirus Apps
Android App Real-Time Protection Wi-Fi Scanner Anti-Theft Tools Extra Features Money-Back Guarantee
1.🥇 Norton ✅ (premium only) ✅ ❌ App privacy monitor, VPN, data breach monitoring (premium only) 60 days
- 🥈 Avira ✅ ✅ ✅ App privacy scanner, data breach scanner, limited VPN 60 days
- 🥉 McAfee ✅ ✅ ❌ None 30 days
- Panda ✅ ❌ ✅ Smartwatch compatibility, App privacy scanner, limited VPN 30 days
- Kaspersky ✅ (premium only) ❌ ✅ Smartwatch integration 30 days
How to Choose the Best Free Antivirus App for Your Android:
Security. I downloaded hundreds of Android-specific malware files, sketchy apps, and even ransomware files to ensure that the antivirus apps I recommend are able to detect and remove all types of malware. I also tested internet security features like anti-phishing protection and Wi-Fi scanners to ensure these products can keep Androids safe from the latest web-based threats.
Performance. Nothing is worse than a security app that drains your battery and kills your Android’s performance. I made sure all of the apps I recommend can increase your security without crashing your phone or tablet.
Extra features. Android antiviruses don’t just offer protection against Android malware, but they also include useful extras like app advisors, VPNs, anti-theft protection, and other security features. I tested all of the additional features of each brand on this list to ensure they all work exactly as promised and add real value to the product.
Ease of use. I tested each feature to ensure that these apps make their features easy to access and understand for all users. All of the apps on this list also provide good integration with Android OS and Chrome OS.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut:
There are many antivirus apps for Android that didn’t make it into my top 5. Here are a few well-known brands you may have been expecting to see on this list:
TotalAV. TotalAV offers a good set of free features for Android, but it lacks real-time malware protection. However, TotalAV’s paid Android antivirus includes some pretty good features, including real-time protection, app locking, and a secure VPN.
Bitdefender. I really love Bitdefender’s full-scale antivirus suite, but its free Android app is only a simple antivirus scanner. While it’s really easy to use, it’s just not better than the rest of the products on this list.
Avast/AVG. There are a few review sites that are still recommending Avast and AVG, but SafetyDetectives is not one of them. While Avast and AVG maintain a widespread web presence, they were implicated in some pretty serious privacy violations. You can go here to read more about the full story of how they were secretly selling user data.
Conclusion
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Check out other publications to gain access to more digital resources if you are just starting out with Flux Resource.
Also contact us today to optimize your business(s)/Brand(s) for Search Engines