Android Security Apps Continue to Improve in Latest AV-Test Report - PC Magazine
PC Magazine, by Jordan Minor
While there's plenty you can do to protect your PC from viruses, the number of potential victims is so vast, and the number of potential threats so numerous, it's hard to imagine the platform ever becoming significantly more secure. So as it became obvious that smartphones were the next big thing, there was reason to fear that they would fall prey to the same fate. While Apple used a walled-garden approach to keep out malicious apps, Android risked a more open approach. Fortunately, Android also offered enough baseline protection to keep mobile threats manageable. But if you're looking for extra software to detect what does sneak through, independent testing labs AV-Test has just released its latest report on Android security apps.
Put to the Test
AV-Test put 29 Android security apps under the microscope to evaluate protection, usability, and features. They include Ahnlab V3 Mobile, Alibaba, Anguanjia, Antiy AVL, Avast, AVG, Avira, Baidu, Bitdefender, BullGuard, Comodo, ESET, F-Secure, G Data, Ikarus, Kaspersky, Cheetah Mobile (Clean Master and CM Security), McAfee, NSHC Droid-X, PSafe Total, Qihoo 360 AntiVirus, Quick Heal Total Security, Sophos,Symantec/Norton, Tencent Manager, Trend Micro, Trustlook, and Webroot SecureAnywhere.
The biggest takeaway from these results is just how positive they seem. Previous AV-Test Android software reports showed overall improvement and this new one continues the trend. 18 products, almost two-thirds, received a flawless 13-point score, up from 15 products last round. Each app earned certification and detected over 95 percent of malware samples, with the average score being the essentially perfect 99.69 percent. Read more.
