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Do I need an antivirus?

DannyG86

DannyG86

Newbie
Hey guys.

I'm just wondering if I need to bother with an antivirus, and if so which one to use?

I currently have Avast and malwarebytes installed and it feels like total overkill.

One of them should be enough right? Or should I not even be worried about viruses/malware on android at the present time?

I've just moved over from iOS ( about 2 weeks ago ) and am still finding my feet.

Thanks for your time,
Danny
 
Those two kinda do different things .. at least, on a PC. I'd suggest you do what I do with my PC and pick one (Avast) to keep running and occassionally re-enable (or re-install) the other one (Malwarebytes) and run a quick scan.

Having said that, I've never used AV on my phone. I'm reasonably careful what I do on it - like never opening attachments unless they're things I'm expecting to receive - plus I avoid doing anything very sensitive like internet banking on my phone.
 
Dealer's choice :)

If you use the forum search you will see that some people never use an anti-virus with Android.Myself I just use Avast as well on all my devices including windows.It has a very small resource footprint and is free so,"Why Not" :)
Also the app version has other nice features like being able to track your phone if stolen and the ability to hide the program from a would-be thief.Also,unlike some bloated AVs I've never had a lock-up or crash with Avast since winXP or before.

My 10 Penn'th :pcguru:
 
PaulS said:
Dealer's choice :)

If you use the forum search you will see that some people never use an anti-virus with Android.Myself I just use Avast as well on all my devices including windows.It has a very small resource footprint and is free so,"Why Not" :)
Also the app version has other nice features like being able to track your phone if stolen and the ability to hide the program from a would-be thief.Also,unlike some bloated AVs I've never had a lock-up or crash with Avast since winXP or before.

My 10 Penn'th :pcguru:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I did turn off realtime scanning in malwarebytes as I didn't want to have both of them scanning.

I like how avast can also disable internet access to apps also. That alone cuts down on dodgy advertising in apps (live wallpaper apps are atrocious for this it seems)

Thanks
 
I use Kaspersky mostly because it came with my PC and laptop dubscriptions and it has anti-theft functions on both my tablet and phone.
 
DannyG86 said:
Thanks for the advice. I did turn off realtime scanning in malwarebytes as I didn't want to have both of them scanning.

I like how avast can also disable internet access to apps also. That alone cuts down on dodgy advertising in apps (live wallpaper apps are atrocious for this it seems)

Thanks
Click to expand...

"Live Wallpapers" may look nice but they can be a big battery drain.Just a thought :)
 
I dont think we need antivirus apps tbh but if like me youre lazy about reading app permissions, its good to have an app that warns you about ads or possibly harmful permissions while the app downloads and before installation. (I use Appbrain Ad Detector)

As for live wallpapers, they only use CPU/battery while youre on homescreen so dont worry about battery unless you spend a lot of time staring at it, in which case its probably worth the battery drain :D
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone!

I like the friendly attitude towards newcomers here.
Technically i'm not a n00b. I'm a software engineer for iOS/Android/Amazon etc. But been a Mac user, I kind of have a warped view implanted in me toward antiviruse's I guess.

Cheers!
 
As long as you're careful about where you're getting apps from (stick to the official Google Play Store rather than shady sites offering paid apps for free), you really shouldn't need antivirus. Google already scans every application in the play store for malicious code, and they've also recently added an option to even scan apps loaded from elsewhere (Settings > Security > Verify Apps). Until recently, I still suggested apps like Avast solely for their anti-theft offerings, but Google has recently taken care of that as well.

One last word - pay attention to the permissions that applications request when you install them. If you encounter a flashlight app that wants to know your location and personal information and have full access to the Internet, run. (No antivirus would protect you from that sort of shady app anyway.)
 
codesplice said:
As long as you're careful about where you're getting apps from (stick to the official Google Play Store rather than shady sites offering paid apps for free), you really shouldn't need antivirus. Google already scans every application in the play store for malicious code, and they've also recently added an option to even scan apps loaded from elsewhere (Settings > Security > Verify Apps). Until recently, I still suggested apps like Avast solely for their anti-theft offerings, but Google has recently taken care of that as well.

One last word - pay attention to the permissions that applications request when you install them. If you encounter a flashlight app that wants to know your location and personal information and have full access to the Internet, run. (No antivirus would protect you from that sort of shady app anyway.)
Click to expand...

Got it :)

I don't download apps from anywhere but google play. That would go against the grain for me.

If an app is worth it, i'll buy it.

Thanks!
 
I'm a little late, but still.. I use AVG. I like it, because it is not just an antivirus and a tracking app if your phone gets stolen, but you can also lock apps, blaclist, tracks your phones preformance and scans every app right when you download it....
 
Thats true. Am i right in thinking there was a popular keyboard app that was a key-logger? Or was that a cracked version outside of Play?
whatever it was though, antivirus apps didnt flag it and i wouldnt really call it a virus. More malware that had been installed by choice by the user(?)
 
I'm sure you've gotten the answer you needed but here is my 0.02 cents worth. I run Avast on my phone just for precautionary stakes. I only download from the play store. I also run Addon Detector for push adds that the antivirus doesn't stop. To me this is the biggest "Virus" Android has is stuff like push adds and other types of advertisement. I generally purchase all my apps so that I can get add free versions and support the developer. There are a few free apps though that I use quite a bit that do not offer a "Pay" version but no adds have been associated with them as far as I can tell.

So the question is do you need Anti-virus well the real answer to that is dependent upon how you use your device and how you obtain apps. How you download attachments and from who.
 
For Android I do not think it is necessary to install an antivirus. I have installed AVG in my phone but so far it hasn't found any viruses (which makes me wonder if it really works). If you have a powerful device you can leave installed a free antivirus
 
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