Avast Mobile Security

CNET Editors' review

by: Seth Rosenblatt on April 30, 2012

First Take:

This free app from Avast is based on the Theft Aware app that it acquired when Avast purchased ITAgents in September. It contains a robust suite of Android-specific security features, including malicious app scanning, premium SMS blocking, link scanning, anti-theft measures, and two features that only work on rooted devices.

So with an impressive set of features, why did Avast--which runs a freemium business model for its Windows security suite--decide to go fully free on Android? Miloslav Korenko, Avast's marketing director, said, "Right now, we believe it's not about making money. It's about visibility. It'll be 2013 at best before we can monetize it. We don't want to differentiate on antivirus or antitheft, so we're giving it to the user for free."

The full list of features is remarkably comprehensive, if a bit overwhelming. In addition to scans of the internal memory and SD card for app malware, many Windows-style security features have been ported over, including on-demand scans, scheduling scans, and reporting false positives. Another port from the PC is integration with the Avast WebRep, a cloud-based service that scans each URL before it's launched. It will warn you if it links to a malware-infected site.

The privacy report looks at the permissions of installed apps and advising users of possible privacy risks. Text message and call filtering are both available, along with a series of in-depth options. These include redirecting blocked calls to voicemail, or filtering based on a start and end time, or the day of the week. Outgoing calls can also be blocked, a clever tool so you can hand the phone over to a toddler without having to worry about annoying your contact list.

Restricted to people with rooted devices is the firewall, which can disable Internet access on a per-app basis, just like a desktop firewall. You can customize the firewall's settings for each app to work with Wi-Fi, 3G, or data roaming.

The app manager will be familiar to users of Advanced Task Killer. It shows a list of running apps, their size, CPU load, used memory, number of services and threads, and an option to kill the app or uninstall it. Advanced Task Killer has come under a lot of fire for introducing instability to apps, so it's probably a good idea to use the Avast version with caution. But still, it's a good feature to include, if only for the option of having it.

Text message and call filtering are both available, along with a series of in-depth options. These include redirecting blocked calls to voicemail, or filtering based on a start and end time, or the day of the week.

(Credit: Avast)

Avast Mobile Security also comes with tightly integrated anti-theft features. There's an App Disguiser option, for choosing a custom name to camouflage the app; Stealth mode, for hiding Avast from the app drawer and the status bar; SIM card notification, which can activate the siren, lock the phone, or send a notification to a remote device when an unauthorized SIM has been inserted. And since switching SIMs isn't always evil, Avast has included a SIM whitelist for cards that should always be allowed.

Another anti-theft tool is called Self-Protection. It disguises its components in the file structure, but on rooted phones, it can disable the phone's USB port and even survive a hard reset or factory reset. (Or at least, Avast claims it can. I haven't had a chance to test this yet.)

Two key components are lacking from this list. Avast doesn't have a Web portal, from which you can manage the phone. It's missing backup features, too. Backup won't be in the phone until 2012, possibly as late as second half of the year, but Avast did tell me that they plan to launch a management portal for deeper remote control of the phone sometime in the first few months of 2012.

Publisher's Description

From AVAST Software:

Full-featured Antivirus and Anti-Theft security for your Android phone. Protect your personal data with automatic virus scans and infected-URL alerts. Stop hackers by adding a firewall (rooted phones). Control anti-theft features with remote SMS commands for: history wipe, phone lock, siren activation, GPS tracking, audio monitoring, and many other useful tools. Your 'invisible' app hides itself, making it extremely hard for thieves to find and disable. A standalone yet tightly integrated component of avast! Mobile Security, avast! Anti-Theft is the slyest component on the market. Formerly known as Theft Aware, the Anti-Theft portion of avast! Free Mobile Security has been recommended by leading industry experts that include T-Mobile, N-TV, AndroidPIT, and Android Police.

Antivirus -- Performs on-demand scans of all installed apps and memory card content, as well as on-access scans of apps upon first execution.

Privacy Report -- Scans and displays (grid) access rights and intents of installed apps, identifying potential privacy risks, so you know how much info you are really providing to each app.

SMS/Call Filtering -- Filter calls and/or messages from contact list using set parameters based on day(s) of the week, start time, and end time.

App Manager -- Similar to Windows Task Manager, it shows a list of running apps and their size (MB), CPU load, used memory, and number of threads and services - with an option to stop or uninstall.

Web Shield -- The avast! Web Shield for Android scans each URL that loads and warns you if the browser loads a malware-infected URL.

App Disguiser -- After downloading avast! Anti-Theft, the user can choose a custom name that disguises the app (e.g. call it "Pinocchio game") so that it is even harder for thieves to find and remove.

Stealth Mode -- Once anti-theft is enabled, the app icon is hidden in the app tray, leaving no audio or other trace on the target phone.

Remote Features -- SMS commands provide you the following REMOTE options for your 'lost' (or stolen) phone: Siren, Lock, Display Messages, Locate, Memory Wipe, Call/SMS Forwarding, History, Restart.

What's new in this version: Version 1.0.2129 includes the following improvements:

• Multiple bug fixes.
• Added Japanese and Dutch language packs.
• Scan of the SD card(s) now starts immediately.
• Added an option to keep the CPU running while scanning significantly increasing the speed of the automatic scan.
• Added an option to offer blocking of messages from numbers not in contact list upon their arrival.
• Enhanced usability of the password dialog.

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