What you need to know about Android antivirus apps

There is an inconvenience to progress (well, three are a lot of them, but for the purposes of this article we only need focus on one), and that is that as things get more sophisticated and potentially useful, the complexity that allows them to do all the things that we need them to do also makes them more vulnerable to both intentional attacks and accidental malfunctions. Not so long ago, viruses were limited to our PCs and our mobile phones were too simple to be corruptible. However, our beloved brand new smartphones which allow us to do things that, just a few short years ago, we couldn’t even imagine phones being able to do, are, due to their operating systems that are supposed to give us all that options, much more susceptible to infiltration.

First of all, it might be important to note that the term ‘antivirus app’ is something of a misnomer. Because of the way in which it operates, Android cannot be compromised by viruses. Each app is ‘sandboxed’, which means that it needs specific permissions to interact with any part of your system, and these permissions are effectively keeping any potential viruses from spreading on your phone. But, sadly, viruses are just one of many types of malware that you might have to deal with, and the fact that they can’t harm you doesn’t mean that some of the other types can’t. Some of the app makers are still sticking to the term ‘antivirus apps’, but others have instead opted for a slightly more precise ‘security apps’. This, however, is just a matter of denomination and it bears no significance on the app’s performance and effectiveness.

So what exactly is it that you should look for in a security app? Well, a number of things, the foremost among which is probably the malware protection. This is a part of the app that is responsible for finding and removing malicious components of your apps or system in general. Malware can harm your phone in a number of ways, all of them irritating, which means that having a reliable security app will save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

However, the effectiveness of these apps is not only limited to files that are already on your phone. Depending on the app that you have chosen to use, you might also have access to a number of additional features that will warn you if you are about to visit a website that might infect your phone. This also includes protection from a number of ways in which spammers can take advantage of your personal information. Apart from this, you might want to get an app that will try and evaluate the permissions that other apps on your phone are asking for, and determine, according to those permissions if a particular app is trying to overstep its bounds, as this is often cause for alarm.

Most of these apps come with anti-theft options, which allow you to either track your phone, or manipulate it remotely. Finally, when you have considered all of the previously listed options and found an app that suits your needs, you need to make sure that the security app itself is not causing more damage to your phone than malware ever could. If the app is not optimized properly it might require too much of your phone’s power, and by doing so slow it down to a halt.

Mayer Melissa is blogger from London, she has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the tech industry. She thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. Currently she use Motorola Xoom 2


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