# Phone Antivirus



## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 19, 2017)

Does anyone know a good Av for Mobiles , something along the lines of malwarebytes that i wont have to buy.
I got a email from virgin media uk.

Saying my loan has been authorised , and stupid me clicked the attached file.
Something did load but looked like either a corrupted pdf or a script.
No nafarius shit occoured yet i hope , well none I've noted.

I had Avast on it at the time but Avast clearly are blind to some stuff given CCleaner news.

I wasn't even a customer ffs , anyway please send help.


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## Sasqui (Sep 19, 2017)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> Does anyone know a good Av for Mobiles , something along the lines of malwarebytes that i wont have to buy.
> I got a email from virgin media uk.
> 
> Saying my loan has been authorised , and stupid me clicked the attached file.
> ...



Used AVG on both my Motorola and now my Galaxy S7.  It's free and well, it seems to work, I've used it for years.


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## GreiverBlade (Sep 19, 2017)

i never used any antivirus on any of my phone and never got anything ... 

some of my friend used AVG/Avast and various other one and got issues, due to "virus" or more classically due to "non official apps" or "incorrect behavior" or due to the Antivirus itself ... after all, they are all bloatware that hog the ressources 
i was tempted to use Sophos and Avast for the blacklist function but most handset come in standard with it (literally include with stock Android ) under Android Virus are quite rare, it's more scripting (Stagefright exploit and the other alike are not virus per se )

to me, it's more like Antivirus developer are playing on the fear the people have about "virus" on android to get their apps installed (paid or not, since most "free" have paid option to unlock some useless options and sometime "full efficiency" )

funnily enough, now i don't even use an antivirus on my main rig ... (tho i still run a malwarebyte scan from time to time, but nothing come out unusual  )


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## evernessince (Sep 19, 2017)

Whether you need anti-virus on your phone is completely dependent on what kind of websites you visit.  If you only visit popular safe sites you likely don't need anti-virus.  That said, due to the popularity of mobile and it's target audience it is likely that we will see an increase in malware and viruses.  That's just what happens for every popular platform.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 19, 2017)

Ok thanks for the help I found malware bytes mobile on play ,it says im good.
Av is a personal choice but please don't think it unnecessarily required or tell others that.


 I visit tech sites not pron and I opened a virgin media email not "bigbaps check me pics"(many reside in my spam folder ;/)
It doesn't hurt to be secure.
And others less wise than you might be better off with it, then without it ,my mum for example ,my cousin's ,their kids ,shit I've cleaned limewire off at least 50 PC's over the years.


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## jboydgolfer (Sep 19, 2017)

I use malwarebites on my tablet, I'm not certain if they offer it for iPhone but I know they offer it for android ,for free

**edit*
the app store does NOT offer MBAM, sorry i should have looked inot it b4 mentioning it, hopefully your phone is an Android  *


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## RejZoR (Sep 20, 2017)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> Does anyone know a good Av for Mobiles , something along the lines of malwarebytes that i wont have to buy.
> I got a email from virgin media uk.
> 
> Saying my loan has been authorised , and stupid me clicked the attached file.
> ...



avast! isn't "blind". The attack on CCleaner was in process before they purchased Piriform. You can't blame it on them, they aren't psychic you know, no one could have predicted that... And the way they handled it was utmost professional in my opinion. I see no reason ditching it for given reasons.

In general, there are a lot of decent and free options for Android. avast! if you want lots of features, BitDefender if you want least features, just good basic protection that works out of the box. DrWeb Light is also pretty good with nice interface and no annoying ads. There are also Panda Free, SOPHOS, Trend Micro and Symantec/Norton that do a good job. Stay away from countless no-name antiviruses, I wouldn't trust them even if you paid me. Stick with brands that are well recognized on desktops as well and you should be fine.

Also, note that Google itself has now rolled out protection within their store. Every app is scanned by their systems when you install it. PlayProtect also checks ALL your installed Android apps once a week. So, that's also a layer in between. I think Google uses system similar to VirusTotal, a cloud based system consisting of several scanners and their own system. I think even Android should be well covered now.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 20, 2017)

RejZoR said:


> avast! isn't "blind". The attack on CCleaner was in process before they purchased Piriform. You can't blame it on them, they aren't psychic you know, no one could have predicted that... And the way they handled it was utmost professional in my opinion. I see no reason ditching it for given reasons.
> 
> In general, there are a lot of decent and free options for Android. avast! if you want lots of features, BitDefender if you want least features, just good basic protection that works out of the box. DrWeb Light is also pretty good with nice interface and no annoying ads. There are also Panda Free, SOPHOS, Trend Micro and Symantec/Norton that do a good job. Stay away from countless no-name antiviruses, I wouldn't trust them even if you paid me. Stick with brands that are well recognized on desktops as well and you should be fine.
> 
> Also, note that Google itself has now rolled out protection within their store. Every app is scanned by their systems when you install it. PlayProtect also checks ALL your installed Android apps once a week. So, that's also a layer in between. I think Google uses system similar to VirusTotal, a cloud based system consisting of several scanners and their own system. I think even Android should be well covered now.


I agree , i still have Avast on , the news just caused a bit of doubt in me given how that email opened at the time.


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## pigulici (Sep 20, 2017)

I used avira, as free...


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## lZKoce (Sep 20, 2017)

In my experience : Bitdefender Free was good, but on Android is generally a waste of recourses IMO. I just install->scan->uninstall. I don't keep it constantly.


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## micropage7 (Oct 21, 2017)

lZKoce said:


> In my experience : Bitdefender Free was good, but on Android is generally a waste of recourses IMO. I just install->scan->uninstall. I don't keep it constantly.


yeah me too bitdefender
i used to use avast then avg then avira now bit defender
its simple, run as it should and no annoying notification etc etc


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## Ebo (Oct 21, 2017)

I use F-scure simply because its included in a phone subscription.


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## francisw19 (Oct 22, 2017)

I'm using Kaspersky Internet Security - no complaints here.  Not that I've put it to the test, but it runs well and hasn't casued any issues.  It's not free, per se, but the license on my desktop covers 3 devices (PC/phone/tablet). It's already paid for, so I figured I might as well put it to use.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 22, 2017)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> I had Avast on it at the time but Avast clearly are blind to some stuff given CCleaner news


You can't factually make this claim. Within one month of the buyout, while Piriform still had its own people in place, as most mergers are, Piriform announced the breach.  

I don't see a problem here, and it certainly can't be pinned on Avast!


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## RejZoR (Oct 22, 2017)

Google now uses its own solution to scan their stuff at install point and now also checks all your installed apps daily. I don't know how effective it is, but I think it's based on VirusTotal and their own system, so it should be very reliable. I now don't use anything since they do daily scans, but when they were still weekly, I had AV.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Oct 22, 2017)

rtwjunkie said:


> You can't factually make this claim. Within one month of the buyout, while Piriform still had its own people in place, as most mergers are, Piriform announced the breach.
> 
> I don't see a problem here, and it certainly can't be pinned on Avast!


In retrospect that may be the case. I was panicked.


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## mac_user (Oct 24, 2017)

I also can suggest F-Secure, I`ve heard it is pretty good.


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## micropage7 (Oct 24, 2017)

mac_user said:


> I also can suggest F-Secure, I`ve heard it is pretty good.


just coz you heard it not means it's good for you


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## FreedomEclipse (Oct 24, 2017)

came with a few of my handsets. uninstalled instantly


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## dirtyferret (Oct 24, 2017)

I used Avast free but found the adds annoying and it constantly asked to scan wi-fi connections even though it had already done so multiple times (like home & work).  Switched to bitdefender free and works fine, less annoying, and less battery usage.


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## denrick (Nov 10, 2017)

Bitdefender is not a free app but offers best protection againts malware and viruses.


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## SnakeDoctor (Nov 10, 2017)

Sounds like the attachment was a ransomware virus - lucky you didn't open attachment on Pc
Never skimp on a antivirus they don't even cost much for yearly license not worth the risks

Recommend Eset or Kaspersky Antivirus (New Free version available )
ESET Mobile Security is R157 (11$)

Not a Fan of AVG,Avast,Avira Free


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## RejZoR (Nov 10, 2017)

Kaspersky (in free version) for Android does NOT scan apps in real-time like others do.


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## OneMoar (Dec 10, 2017)

non not needed unless you make a habit out of sideloading apks from untrustworthy sources


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## RejZoR (Dec 29, 2017)

I usually defend free apps, but *avast! Mobile Security* currently has an awesome deal. If you use the "Upgrade" button inside the avast! app, it'll only cost around 4€ for entire year. Which is pretty cool deal imo. I never bought anything, but have decided to grab this one coz its so cheap. It has quite cool features beyond just antivirus so it might be worth checking out for this price.


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## cookiemonster (Jan 28, 2018)

I have Avast and Malwarebytes on my phone and tablets.


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## theFOoL (Feb 2, 2018)

Why? Android added to where it scans an app before install.  These Apps just waste battery life and those Apps to clear cache is a waste as In settings there's a option to do so


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## TheMailMan78 (Feb 2, 2018)

Avast is junk on PCs and mobile. Dunno why people keep recommending it. Far better options out there.


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## theFOoL (Feb 2, 2018)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Avast is junk on PCs and mobile. Dunno why people keep recommending it. Far better options out there.


I've been using AVAST  for years and its kept my pc's safe but now I just use Defender


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## TheMailMan78 (Feb 2, 2018)

rk3066 said:


> I've been using AVAST  for years and its kept my pc's safe but now I just use Defender


Safe but slow. Real slow.


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## RejZoR (Feb 3, 2018)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Safe but slow. Real slow.



Real slow. By what measure? It has been one of fastest antiviruses since version 5.x when they introduced transient/permanent caching.


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## erixx (Feb 3, 2018)

I remove AV from all phones because it slows them visibly down and I have no concerns (I don't install anything apart from whatsapp and twitter) Of course if a customers email gets hacked, maybe someday I trust and open an infected email from them, but untill then... I normally only download email headers.


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## RejZoR (Feb 3, 2018)

Android AV's don't scan things the same way Windows ones do. So, stories about them "slowing down" things are full on BS. Only time they can slow down anything is when they are actually scanning an app that got installed. That's how Android's API works...


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## Robotics (Feb 3, 2018)

Phone's AV programs totaly craps. Not found anything which I use years. If you wanna use one of them try all are same. It's important point not download anything from 3. vendor. Install verified Google Store apps.


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## erixx (Feb 3, 2018)

The phone system itself warns you about running background apps. And as I have a couple running that I want to run, I delete all but these. In other words, when you have several email accounts and messaging etc apps running with incoming bytes (scanned by av) it doesn't take a big chunk of your brain to understand it affects performance when at that precise moment you want to take a HD photo, etc. and you see the lagging happening.


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## SomeOne99h (Feb 3, 2018)

For My android phone, I use a combination of Avira-antivirus and ShutApp.
When I simply don't want or need the app to run in the background, I run ShutApp! It also work for other apps and you can exclude apps from shutting down. Note that this app isn't just a claimer, it does truely stop the apps for me. Saves battery and preserves performance for me 

I used Avast on the phone and it barely sees anything. But I use Avast in my Windows.


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## GreiverBlade (May 8, 2018)

Nonetheless,
Apple system can get Virus, not as other operating system of course, since the "viruses" made for these system use "users stupidity" as a starting mechanism (which, unfortunately, is quite common nowadays )
also iOS MacOS and Android are based both on Unix/Linux the only difference is Apple system don't warn you when they get a major issue or a kernel panic. thus maintaining an illusion of a more stable and secure environment.


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