Are you looking for a free antivirus for Android? Wondering which is the best Android antivirus? Looking for a free antivirus for Android? You do not need it!
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Antivirus for Android do you need?
More and more often TechKhiladi readers contact me to ask me for information on:
- free antivirus for Android
- free android antivirus
- best Android antivirus
- free antivirus app for Android
To all these requests I always reply in the same way, but I would like to clarify once and for all on this subject, since I unfortunately notice that there is still a lot of confusion about it.
Do you need an antivirus for Android?
Without too many words, the answer is simply NO!
Your Android smartphone doesn’t need ANY antivirus.
Don’t waste time going to the Play Store, looking for antivirus software, understanding which one is the best, looking for the most complete and free ones. It’s all time unnecessarily wasted.
Your Android phone, smartphone or tablet works great without any antivirus. Indeed, it works even better without antivirus.
In support of my thesis I tell you that, according to the latest analysis, only 33% of antiviruses would work properly, while others aim to show only advertisements.
Do not you believe it? Keep reading!
Android Antivirus: 2 apps out of 3 don’t work
That’s right: most of the antiviruses you find on the Android Play Store actually DO NOT bring any benefit to your smartphone or tablet, but its sole purpose is to show you invasive and annoying advertisements.
And so, while you think you have downloaded software to solve your Android’s problems, you’re actually only making it worse.
Obviously these data did not come up to me. AV-Comparatives, the company that professionally tests antiviruses, has tested 250 different downloadable software on Android that calls itself antivirus: however, only 80 have passed the “test” and achieved sufficient functionality. All the others have been heavily rejected.
Most of the apps that are proposed as anti-virus for Android seem to be based on the same basic plot: it is the umpteenth confirmation of the fact that many developers do nothing but package apps with a high-sounding name able to make a grip on users, to then betray their trust by not protecting the devices and monetizing thanks to the abundant use of advertising banners.
As if this were not enough, it also seems that those who call themselves antiviruses and have passed the test do not correctly analyze the application code, but simply limit themselves to writing only blacklists and whitelists in which they insert the various apps they find on the user’s smartphone.
And this method works in a decidedly crude way: in fact, it thinks that in many cases all the apps that include the word “com.instagram” in the code are given as safe. This means in a nutshell that if some malware (or similar) includes this wording in the code it is reported as “not dangerous” by the antivirus, when instead it could be a serious threat to your privacy and security.
In the worst cases, then, it happens that the antivirus detects themselves as dangerous apps: a drama.
The antivirus for Android is useless
As already anticipated, therefore, installing an antivirus on your Android smartphone does not serve anything at all, except to download additional software that only shows banners and advertisements.
Of course, when you start them it seems like they are analyzing the operating system deeply for viruses, malware, spyware, adware and the like, but they really don’t do anything.
Indeed, they often ask you to install other programs full of advertising that are of no use.
How to protect Android from viruses without antivirus?
If you want advice, use your Android device without any antivirus.
Just use a little head to avoid filling your phone with viruses, malware and the like, for example:
- DO NOT download random applications from the Play Store, especially if they are offered to you via banners and popups while you browse the internet
- DO NOT download files of dubious origin via smartphone
- do not download APK files from unreliable sources
- do not install APK files from untrusted sources
As on any other operating system, viruses on Android do not come alone, but enter (and install) as a result of your actions. Just use some intelligence and keep your eyes open to prevent viruses from entering your phone.
And then, to be honest, everyone I know who thinks they have a virus in their Android phone, actually had simply downloaded and installed applications or games at random, which in turn showed annoying advertising notifications or similar stuff. It was not therefore a question of viruses or malware, but simply of annoying apps that only wanted to make money by showing advertisements to the “not very attentive” and “awake” users who had installed them at random, without even knowing what they were doing.
Always these users, then, they downloaded the antivirus at random from the Play Store to try to solve the problem, but getting the opposite result: they downloaded other useless software that showed even more advertising than before.
I conclude with this sentence: “Rather than installing an antivirus on Android, install the brain”.