Top 5 Free Android Antivirus Apps

For those of us that have an Android phone we know that there are a lot of infected apps on the market and that we are most likely to get malware because of Android being the most popular mobile operating system. However most of us want our phones want to be protected at no cost to us, well today I will give you my top 5 list for the best free Android antivirus apps.

1. Comodo Mobile Security

Comodo mobile security is our choice for best free mobile security, and that is for good reason. Lets just go over the features that come with the app.

Features:

• Antivirus: Comodo will watch the phone for unsafe process' or apps trying to step outside of their "box". You may also scan the whole phone at any given time from the menu.
• App Locker: Comodo comes with a built in app locker that locks apps with a password of your choosing.
• Back Up Apps: You may backup your apps to the SD card so that you may install them again if you get a new phone.
• System Optimizer: Comodo comes in with a built in task manager to show you all of your running apps. The best thing is that this program is not to powerful and will only show active apps not memory resident. Comodo also comes with a built in cache cleaner so that your phone is always running in tip top shape.
• Task Scheduler: You may schedule Comodo to scan your phone at a given time.
• SMS and Call Blocking: Comodo allows you to block certain numbers or even texts that contain certain keywords. This used in the right hands will prevent you from receiving spam texts.
• Privacy Protection: Comodo has a private space were you may only view certain texts from people. For instance if you are receiving important bank information, then Comodo will protect it in this space so that only you may see them.
• Privacy Advisor: Comodo has this feature so that phone owners will be able to see what permissions an app is claiming. For instance did you know Angry Birds tracks your location? Well now you do, and you might not be comfortable with them doing this. However, this feature does more than just check permissions it will be able to detect apps that are collecting too much information and will label them as unsafe.
• Anti-theft Protection: Comodo gives you the ability to track your phone if lost, and send codes to wipe and do far more to protect your privacy.
• Firewall: The rarest item for phone Antivirus apps and it is one of the most important. If you root your phone then Comodo will be able to monitor all connections and it will be able to control whether or not certain connections are safe.

2. Avast Mobile Security

Avast while lacks the features that you would get from Comodo still has very strong protection and such a simple UI that anyone could navigate. 

Features:

• Antivirus: Avast is well known for their shields and they don't skip here the problems are that they still seem to be adding some which is concerning, however you will be safe with Avast.
• Anti-theft: Avast has the best Anti-theft module of any antivirus program that I have tested. From my testing it was nearly dead on every time and the management from your Avast account.
• SMS and Call Filtering: Avast is able to block numbers from contacting you and it can prompt you on every message from an unknown sender.
• Privacy Report: Avast will scan all apps and tell you what their permissions are. This is not as effective as Comodo's however it is still nice to get this feature.
• Firewall: Avast comes with a nice firewall, but it can be complicated and you don't need to worry about this unless you know how to properly manage a rooted Android phone.

3. Norton Mobile Antivirus 

Norton mobile does offer a free antivirus version of their program, however it does lack a lot of features. However the one thing Norton has always done well with, was antivirus protection. Norton does find a ton of malware and does a good job with detecting and analysing malicious apps. These are the reasons that I can recommend Norton. While it lacks features it makes up for it with really nice protection and being a light program.

Features:

• Anti-theft: Norton provides all free users with a very nice Anti-theft module.
• Antivirus: Norton has a very high testing results and allows all of the basic scans that you get with any antivirus app.

4. Bitdefender Antivirus Free

Bitdefender lacks all the extra features of the above features but offers "unparalleled" protection. Bitdefender is the best scoring antivirus for your Windows Computer, and your Android device and while it has good protection it needs more features. Generally a program that does more gets more downloads Bitdefender has the fact that it is a powerful antivirus, and that is about it.

Features:

• Antivirus: Bitdefender has the best antivirus in the industry (according to lab tests) and that is true for its mobile device as well. However it lacks the web protection which you get with their paid version which is why it got a poor rating.
• Autopilot: Bitdefender loves their autopilot and that is were the app will scan all new apps and perform regular scanning of all apps. However, Bitdefender needs to expand this so that it can monitor those apps.

5. Kaspersky Mobile Security Lite

Kaspersky is one of those antivirus companies that I have come to trust for protection, while they don't have the best they are still very strong with protection which is why I would argue them and Bitdefender are at a tie. This app has more features than Bitdefender but has worse protection which is key when it comes to Android protection.

Features:

• Antivirus: This is very similar to Bitdefender were they limit your protection. However, the protection is still very strong as long as you do regular scans.
• Anti-theft Protection: Kaspersky has a very useful Anti-theft protection module and I hope everyone that is using the program actually uses the feature.
• Call & SMS Filter: Kaspersky allows you to block certain numbers from calling or texting you on a by number basis.

Summary

When it comes to mobile security no matter what app you are using, you are better than the guy next to you who is not using one. You need to remember to only use trusted companies, and if you are not sure whether or not they are trusted "Google it" or remember the names of major antivirus companies.

*I did not recommend AVG because I have had bad experiences with them, but it is still a very nice app to use so please don't feel like I skipped them out of hate.*