AVG Anti Virus Free for Android

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on December 16, 2012

Is your Android device vulnerable to viruses and malware? Short answer: Yes. While threats to Android aren't yet on a par with Windows malware, it's a growth market, so it only makes sense to take steps to protect yourself and your device. Downloading apps only from the Play Store is probably the easiest way to keep your Android device safe from malware, but AVG Anti Virus Free for Android offers extra protection. This free app from one of the most trusted names in antivirus protection scans your Android smartphone or device for vulnerabilities such as unsecured settings and tells you how to fix them. Like your desktop antivirus client, it scans your incoming e-mail, SMS, and other data to prevent malicious code from entering your device, and it also scans your media files and other data for malware. It can monitor your battery level and data usage, too. A neat trick is AVG's ability to find or lock your phone remotely using SMS or a mobile control panel.

AVG's main page displays four modules: Protection, Performance, Privacy, and Anti-Theft. The first three showed our phone's Protected status, but we needed to register for the free Anti-Theft feature by providing our Google account details. When it's active, AVG's Anti-Theft option lets you find your lost device using Google Maps, lock your device remotely, and even wipe personal data remotely. AVG packs some extra tools, too. Be careful with the Task Killer feature for stopping running apps!

Nearly every security app or tool starts with a scan, and AVG is no exception. It identified two vulnerabilities in our phone's Settings. Tapping each took us directly to the issue and explained how (and why) to change our settings. AVG's modules offer extensive choices for customizing scans, protection, performance, and other options. We enabled the Deep Scan option under the Protection settings to scan all our phone's files. AVG AntiVirus Free for Android not only protects your device from existing threats but, thanks to regular updates, from emerging ones, too. Add its privacy and performance enhancements and its theft-prevention tools, and it's an easy recommendation.