Protect your android device

Google Play Protect:
2.5 Billion active devices

The most widely deployed mobile threat protection service in the world

Bringing the best of Google security to your Android device

Google Play Protect is Google’s built-in malware protection for Android. Backed by the strength of Google’s machine learning algorithms, it is always improving in real time.

Keeping your device safe, 24/7

Google Play Protect continuously works to keep your device, data and apps safe. It automatically scans your device and makes sure you have the latest in mobile security, so you can rest easy.

Securing your device, even if it’s lost

If you’ve misplaced your device, Find My Device has your back. You can locate it by signing into your Google account, or even call it directly from your browser. Lock your device remotely or display a message on the lock screen, so if someone finds it they know who to contact. Plus, if you’re convinced it’s lost for good you can erase all your data.

Scanning and verifying over 100 billion apps every day

All Android apps undergo rigorous security testing before appearing in the Google Play Store. We vet every app and developer in Google Play, and suspend those who violate our policies. Then, Play Protect scans billions of apps daily to make sure everything remains spot on. That way, no matter where you download an app from, you know it’s been checked by Google Play Protect.

Helping you surf on the safe side

With Safe Browsing protection in Chrome, you can browse with confidence. If you visit a site that’s acting out of line, you’ll be warned and taken back to safety.

Tips for staying safe

First, make sure you’re downloading all apps from trusted sources like the Google Play Store. Google Play Protect, which scans all apps for malware before and after you install them, is automatically enabled on your device. To see more about Play Protect:

1. Open your device’s Google Play Store app
2. Tap Menu > Play Protect icon

For more information, visit the Help Center.

There are several ways to prevent anyone other than you from using your device.

First, set a screen lock. If your device falls into the wrong hands while you have a screen lock set, it can’t be used unless your screen is unlocked. Next, add your Google account on your device. That way if your device is stolen and wiped, the bad guys can’t factory reset your device.

For more information, visit the Help Center.

If your device has been lost, simply use Find My Device to locate, ring, lock or erase it.

For more information, visit the Help Center.

You can help protect your device by updating your security settings. If you’re not familiar with the Settings app, it’s easy to hop in and start exploring. Here’s how:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Scroll down to Security and select it to manage settings ranging from screen security to encryption to device administration.

For more information on each individual setting, visit the Help Center.

Nexus and some of the newer Android devices receive monthly security updates. You can find when the last security update was released by following these steps.

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Scroll to the bottom and touch About phone or About tablet > Android security patch level.
3. The date displayed is when the last security update was released.

For more information on how to check the version of Android you’re running, visit the Help Center.

Источник

Mobile safety

Designed for your safety.

Defence in every detail.

With Android, protection is thoughtfully built into everything that you do. Like downloading apps, browsing the web and choosing to share data. If something seems off, like a bad app or a harmful link, we’ll alert you and give you tips on what to do next. And our powerful internal security guards your device and data. So that you stay protected, even when you’re not using your phone.

You’re protected at every turn.

Avoid bad apps.

Google Play Protect helps you download apps without worrying if they’ll hurt your phone or steal data. We carefully scan apps every day, and if we detect a bad one, we’ll let you know and tell you what to do next. And we study how it works. Because everything we learn improves the way we screen apps. So you stay safer.

Outsmart spammers.

Pick up the calls that matter and skip the ones that don’t. We screen your calls, so you don’t waste time answering bots. And spam protection can tell you if a call is bad, to help stop outsiders getting your personal information. To protect your privacy, the transcription of your call happens entirely on your device.

Avoid shady websites.

Google Safe Browsing lets you explore the web with confidence and helps protect you from dangerous websites and malicious files. We warn you if you try to navigate to a website or file that seems bad, getting you to safety and helping you avoid malware or a phishing scam.

Privacy that works for you.

Android security enables privacy. We protect your data from prying eyes by wrapping it in encryption and setting boundaries around what apps can and can’t do in the background. And when you want to browse? Go incognito in Chrome or on Maps. We also give you tools that help you control who can see what data and when.

Decide when you share data.

Choose when apps access info

With Android, you choose when to share personal info with apps that you download. Privacy notifications let you decide if you want to share access to your microphone, camera or location – just once, all the time or never. Because your phone should work for you. Not the other way around.

We check on forgotten apps.

Stop sharing data with apps that you don’t use

If you haven’t opened an app in a few months – like that music festival app that you forgot about – Android can automatically turn its permissions off. So that it won’t have ongoing access to your data. But don’t worry, you can turn permissions back on at any time. It’s like housekeeping for your phone. That we do for you.

Secure to the core.

Powerful internal defence.

Keeping you safe is the heart of what we do, which is why we bake security into every detail of Android. Even the parts that you can’t see. Device encryption keeps your data safe when your phone is locked so that it looks scrambled to anyone trying to steal your info. And when you back your phone up to the cloud, everything is encrypted end-to-end using your phone’s PIN. So only you can access that data. Plus, we guard each app at the operating system level, so other apps won’t snoop on what you do. And we’ll even notify you if we think that someone tampered with your operating system. These features are always on, working in the background. To make sure that you’re protected automatically.

Safety that empowers everyone.

Google Safety Centre

We’re always making our security technology and privacy tools better. So that no matter how the Internet evolves, you stay safe.

Google security blog

Read the latest news and insights from Google on security and safety on the Internet.

For developers

See how Android gives developers more support with robust security controls and safety built right in.

For tech professionals

Dive into the nuts and bolts of how Android protects data and devices.

For businesses

World-class protection. Control over your whole fleet of devices. Discover how Android keeps businesses’ data safe.

Emergency help

Help during moments of crisis.

We’re creating unique ways to keep you safer. Discover how your Android phone gets you help faster during emergencies.

For developers

For enterprise

For the press

The ecosystem

Support

Some features and devices may not be available in all languages or countries. Subject to availability.

Some features and availability vary by OEM and/or device manufacturer.

Источник

15 Security Apps to Protect Your Android Devices

Geekflare is supported by our audience. We may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this site.

A recent study has found that almost 87% of all Android devices are insecure.

These vulnerabilities arise due to a lack of security updates. The Internet is never safe when they are connected to the web. Safety is a primary concern these days, and many third-party applications have strived to enhance it.

The following apps will help you to protect your Android devices from online identity & security threats.

Avast Mobile Security

Avast is a great app to provide your Android phone protection against viruses coupled with many other threats.

Avast is one of the world’s most trusted free antivirus for Android, which alerts you when spyware, adware get installed and violate your privacy.

The detection rate of the latest Android malware is about 99.9% and is around 100% of malware detected in the last four weeks.

Verdict: If malware and safe browsing are your primary concern, this app is appropriate for you.

Malwarebytes

Safeguard your Android devices from ransomware, malware, and other threats using the advanced protection of Malwarebytes .

It can efficiently detect dangerous threats and remove them before your device gets compromised. Malwarebytes offers real-time shields and scans for even the sophisticated phishing URLs while you use the Chrome browser. It also alerts you in case it detects anything suspicious to ensure a safe browsing experience.

The application conducts periodic privacy audits by identifying access permissions of your apps installed on your phone or tablet. You can track those apps tracking your location, costing you hidden fees, or monitoring your calls. Malwarebytes can quickly search all your files for malware and potentially harmful programs, including adware, screen lockers, etc.

It supports Android versions 6.0 or higher and languages like English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, German, Indonesian, Polish, and Portuguese.

Want to try out?

Malwarebytes offers a 30-day free trial with all the premium features. You can buy its starting plan for $3.33/month for one device, or choose a higher plan for more devices.

VIPRE

One of the popular security apps – VIPRE Android Security, is a great alternative. It puts the security of your device first by safeguarding it from 20,000+ known malware and viruses for Androids.

This security app is packed with powerful features such as up-to-date Malware Scanner with the most recent intel on different viruses. It automatically scans all your apps after you install them. Its Web Protection can detect malicious stuff while you are busy exploring the web.

The Anti-Theft feature can geo-locate, lock, sound alarms, and wipe the phone or tablet from other devices connected through the internet. The all-new Autopilot works as your security advisor, which provides deep insights into device security status. VIPRE Android Security offers total account privacy by allowing you to run a check to determine whether your credentials are safe or not.

While using a secure Wi-Fi like your home Wi-Fi, its Smart Unlock permits you to access your applications directly if you disable the PIN. With the PIN Timeout feature, you can set a 30-second timeout to your PIN. So, in case someone makes five incorrect attempts consecutively, it shows ‘Timeout’.

The security app also snaps a photo if anyone tries tampering with your device. To use this application, you need to have Android version 5.0 and higher, along with a stable internet connection for cloud threat scanning. Get VIPRE Android Security at just $15.99/year for one device.

An all-in-one security app, Nox Security, helps you protect your device from malware and various other threats. It’s like having a single weapon that can tackle all the nasty security concerns. This app can:

• Keep your phone away from viruses and malware
• Protect and lock your apps to prevent privacy breaches
• Prevent others from viewing your notifications menu
• Block spam and suspicious calls

Apart from these security features, Nox Security also helps you clean junk files, stop power-draining apps, and even protect your phone from Wifi network attacks.

Lookout

As the name suggests, Lookout is literally always on the “lookout” for suspicious activities and threats. For example, it alerts you when the Wifi you’re about to join is dangerous or under attack. Also, it tells you which of your installed apps are accessing your location, contacts, messages, and other data.

Apart from that, it enables safe browsing mode, alerts you about the latest breaches, helps you find your stolen phone, and even lock it so that nobody accesses your information.

There are so many more theft protection, identity theft protection, and security features that’ll make your life quite easier. Be sure to check this one out.

Safe Security

Another similar app that has almost everything you need for protection against viruses, Safe Security, also helps you clean and speed up your device. Apart from the threat protection that it already offers, this app also has a bunch of other interesting features that you’d love to use. Here are some of them:

• Instant selfie click of the person trying to use your phone without consent
• Hide useless notifications to stay productive
• Password-protect certain apps of your choice
• Manual scan of installed apps and files to search for vulnerabilities

Safe Security is trusted by more than 200 million users worldwide and has a ton of raving reviews.

Bouncer

There are some apps that we use only a couple of times or for only a single purpose and then keep it as it is, so in those cases, it doesn’t make much sense to keep the permissions intact. However, generally, there’s no option to remove the permissions, but thankfully there’s an app for it.

Bouncer allows you to keep or remove permissions on demand and even disallow certain actions of the app that may seem inappropriate to you. It also notifies you of any apps on your device that drains your battery fast and those that appear to sell your information to third parties.

Firefox Focus

There’s no better feeling than browsing without fear, and Firefox Focus helps you achieve just that. It’s an amazing browser that blocks a wide range of trackers while also erasing your history, passwords, and cookies.

As a result of blocking unwanted ads and trackers, you’ll be able to browse a lot faster. Since this app is powered by Mozilla, it’s completely free and gives you the basic right of browsing privately. 🙂

Sophos

Sophos is one of the best antivirus apps one could have on Android at an absolutely no cost.

Its user interface may not impress you much. However, its features will surely soothe your mind.

• Virus scanning of installed apps, existing apps, and storage media
• Loss and theft protection with the support of remote access which allows the user to wipe, lock, ring, and locate your device.
• Web-filtering
• Spam blocking

Sophos boasts the latest malware detection rate of 100%, which helps it to stand out from the rest.

Signal Messenger

There are many secure messaging apps. However, most of them work only if both users use the same app.

However, Signal Private Messenger allows you to add an extra layer of security to regular SMS text messages even if one of the users is not using Signal Private Messenger. It is developed by Open Whisper System.

The following are its notable features

• Open Source
• End to end encryption which means that nothing is stored on its server
• can encrypt messages even when any one of the users is not using Signal Private Messenger.

Verdict: If you want an end to end encryption for your regular SMS’, Signal Private Messenger is undoubtedly the best app in the market.

Secure Call

It ensures your calls in such a way that nobody can listen to them. Secure Call provides end to end encryption for your private calls, thus preventing them from being overheard by intruders.

It uses a default phone app to make and receive phone calls. Its Peer to Peer architecture with a robust end to end encryption prevents your calls being stolen by Third parties, including the developers of this app.

Verdict: If you want an end to end encryption for phone calls, use Secure Call.

Find My Device

Find My Device is an improved Android Device Manager that allows you to ring, find, lock your Android device remotely. It also allows you to wipe the device’s entire data if it, by any chance it gets permanently out of your reach.

Many other apps offer this service with its other flagship services.

However, Google is by far the easiest to set up and allows you to log in via someone else Android device manager and wipe data from your device on the go.

Verdict: If you want to access your phone remotely, use Andriod Device Manager.

NoRoot Firewall

Many apps on your Android device might be using and eating up your mobile data unnecessarily.

NoRoot Firewall puts you in control of Internet access for apps without rooting your device. It allows us to choose whether a particular app can access the Internet only over wifi or only over mobile data or neither or both.

Orbot

Orbot is an Android application, a part of the Tor project, which allows you to route all of your traffic through the Tor network.

VPN uses a single server, whereas Tor routes your traffic through various tunnels making sure no traces are left behind. Orbot creates a genuinely private mobile data connection. Data gets encrypted and re-encrypted

Data gets encrypted and re-encrypted multiple numbers of times until it reaches the last network where it gets decrypted, thus preventing the sender from being traced.

LastPass

Remembering passwords these days is quite tricky, with users having multiple accounts online and each account having a different password.

LastPass is one of the best password managers available in the market, which allows you to store passwords of your numerous accounts with extra layers of security.

You can easily access all of your confidential data from any computer or mobile device. Encrypted by a secret master password, all you need to remember is one LastPass password to access all of your passwords.

Verdict: One encrypted step destination for locating all of your passwords.

Conclusion

I hope the above security-specific apps help you keep your Andriod mobile/devices safe and secure. Next, check out some of the best Antivirus for Android.

Источник