• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Virus scanner recommended?

Hi and welcome! :)

I would recommend either AVAST or Lookout, but I would go with avast as it has more features than lookout plus it can be especially beneficial if you're rooted too.
I do believe lookout also has the find phone features or is the only one besides avast to have it. But you don't really need one I would say since as long as you stick to the Google Play store for apps, stay away from bad or shady sites and you're fine. :) Hope this has helped.
 
I'm not sure you can trust everything on the Google Play store. Do the usual checks. I am using ESET Security application, found a Trojan virus embedded in an application. It seems to have been a false positive, though.
 
I use,"Avast" on all my systems.Some people are against anti-virus programs but if it's free and does no harm to the speed of the system then why not :)
Avast found a couple of dodgy apps that had some possibly malicious ads in them.Dumped/didn't install those.

I have only a small download limit on my phone so quite often try out .apk files from sites and some of those sites are not secure so I want a safeguard.There's also a peace-of-mind factor for some people,myself included.

HTH :)
 
I have avg every once in awhile it'll inform me the app I just downloaded from the play store has malware or a virus. Better safe than sorry I say. I've been using avg on all my phones and computers for over 5 years now.
 
Metroid Prime said:
But you don't really need one I would say since as long as you stick to the Google Play store for apps, stay away from bad or shady sites and you're fine. :) Hope this has helped.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure it's just shady sites. They don't mention the site in this report of a drive-by download for Windows IE, but it's clearly not a porn site.

New zero-day bug targets IE users in drive-by attack | Security & Privacy - CNET News

If your primary Android browser supports Flash, or if you've installed Flash directly, you're probably particularly at risk.
 
Goodspike said:
I'm not so sure it's just shady sites. They don't mention the site in this report of a drive-by download for Windows IE, but it's clearly not a porn site.

New zero-day bug targets IE users in drive-by attack | Security & Privacy - CNET News

If your primary Android browser supports Flash, or if you've installed Flash directly, you're probably particularly at risk.
Click to expand...
True. Flash can put you at a slight risk, but better safe than sorry. Plus having a good browser helps too. Having an AV can be good, but IMO for Android it gives more peace of mind. And it's good to have that if people are unsure of not having an AV. That is also about IE and windows and not Android. :)
 
Goodspike said:
I'm not so sure it's just shady sites. They don't mention the site in this report of a drive-by download for Windows IE, but it's clearly not a porn site.

New zero-day bug targets IE users in drive-by attack | Security & Privacy - CNET News

If your primary Android browser supports Flash, or if you've installed Flash directly, you're probably particularly at risk.
Click to expand...

Considering that this is talking about Windows and IE I don't think you have to worry about browsing in Android.
 
In the past, I've used Avast - though more for the anti-theft features than out of a concern over malware. I would highly recommend avoiding any of the third-party "virus scanners" that want you to pay for them. They pretty much justify their existence (and price) by alerting over problems that aren't actually there.

Besides, Google automatically scans every app in the Play Store before you get the option to download it. There are still apps that will try to scam you into making in-app purchases (like anything from Gameloft or EA), but you can rest assured that you won't get any truly malicious software if you're getting your apps from the Play Store. And, since Android 4.2, Google also offers to scan apps installed from outside the Play Store. And that's all for free, without requiring any additional software to be installed, and without slowing down your system in the slightest.

Google also recently rolled out the Android Device Manager for everything running Android 2.2 or higher, which effectively duplicates the remote locking and location tracking anti-theft functions of any third-party security app.


From my point of view, there really isn't any need for security software on Android anymore.
 
I have to disagree, codesplice. I only download from the play store, and my tablet picked up something from somewhere the other day, piggybacking apps that bring you to questionable websites. they obviously came from somewhere.
 
shelliewnj said:
I have to disagree, codesplice. I only download from the play store, and my tablet picked up something from somewhere the other day, piggybacking apps that bring you to questionable websites. they obviously came from somewhere.
Click to expand...

In your case it sounds more like an application just installing questionable shortcuts rather than truly malicious software. I'm not entirely sure why that sort of behavior is tolerated by Google's Bouncer but it does sound like something to be looked in to. If you can post some screenshots of the "piggyback" apps and shortcuts in your thread on the subject I will see what I can do to try and help track down the source :)
 
Wow, I appreciate that. I deleted them last night in frustration, but a few of them seemed to be attached to castle clash. Another was called top apps, but the picture was of a flame and said hot apps. And another one was "play candy crush" but lead to a tracking website. Cleared cache after clicking that!
 
The Play Store is pretty 'clean', but it's not a guaranteed sterile environment; there have been several reported and verified incidences of malware sneaking in as part of hacked and repackaged apps.

True virii, in the accepted sense of the term, are rarer than hens' teeth however. Nonetheless, even seasoned Android users often find an additional layer of protection reassuring. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom