If you're not running some kind of anti-malware app on your Android smartphone or tablet, then you're putting yourself at risk of infection from corrupted apps and other kinds of malware.
The good news is that your options are far from limited. The best mobile antivirus apps offer not only top-notch malware detection and prevention, but also a range of privacy and anti-theft features. These include the ability to back up your contacts and other data, track your phone or tablet using its internal GPS chip, snap a picture of a phone thief with the device's camera, and even use your Android Wear smartwatch to locate your phone.
Most mobile security apps have both free and paid versions, but not all freemium antivirus products are created equal. We've rounded up apps from the biggest names in mobile antivirus protection — Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Lookout, McAfee and Norton — and rated their apps based on setup, interface, usability, extra features and, of course, their anti-malware chops.
To gauge security protection, we used data from AV-Test, which rates most major security apps based on their ability to detect zero-day malware and other recent threats. We also used the Geekbench 3 app to measure the impact these security apps have on overall performance.
Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus
This product's anti-malware protection is nearly perfect, but it was the breadth and scope of the extra features in Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus that blew us away. The app's free version alone is as comprehensive as some other security apps' paid versions, and Avast's premium version ($15 per year) includes everything from a privacy adviser to a customizable blacklist, and even has options for rooted phones. The app almost does too much, but the well-organized interface and support keep it user-friendly. Overall, Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus is our favorite Android security app.
AVG AntiVirus Pro
AVG is famed for its free Windows antivirus software, and the company's Android app is similarly easy to use, with excellent anti-theft and privacy-protection features. Yet AVG AntiVirus Pro's malware-detection rate was far behind other security apps we evaluated, and it slowed down our test smartphone the most. The app's feature set is boosted by supplementary Android-maintenance apps from AVG that integrate smoothly into the interface, but if malware protection is what you need, it might be best to look elsewhere.
Bitdefender Mobile Security
Bitdefender isn't as well-known as some other antivirus companies, but its Android security app is light, powerful, fully featured and easy to use. The app offers flawless malware protection and robust privacy-protection tools while incorporating Android Wear watches into its anti-theft features. However, there are no scheduled malware scans, and no "freemium" options. (The separate Bitdefender Antivirus Free for Android only scans for malware.) But at $15 per year, Bitdefender Mobile Security is well worth the expense.
Kaspersky Internet Security for Android
A powerhouse in PC security, Kaspersky Lab brings its unbeatable malware-detection engine to Android devices with Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, which costs $14.95 per year for the premium version. But the app's user interface feels clunky and unfinished, and it lacks the strong privacy-protection features offered by competing products.
McAfee Mobile Security for Android
A well-known name in PC anti-virus software, McAfee impressed us with its wide range of features, which balance functionality with ease of use. We especially liked this product's anti-theft and privacy-protection features, not to mention its intuitive interface, which is full of helpful notes and keeps complex features simple and understandable. But this product's malware-detection rate wasn't quite perfect, and at $29.99 per year for the premium version, McAfee Mobile Security costs twice as much as rival apps that offer
Lookout Security & Antivirus
The sole company on this list that makes only mobile-security products, Lookout's focus on smartphones and tablets pays off in its app's smooth performance and beautiful interface design. However, it's fallen behind the competition in offering diverse privacy-protection features, while the anti-theft features Lookout created are now part of Android itself. Plus, for $3 per month or $30 per year for the premium version, Lookout is twice as expensive as rival apps that offer twice as many features.
Norton Mobile Security
Owned by antivirus giant Symantec, Norton is another well-known PC anti-malware company that now also covers the mobile space. But while we can't argue with Norton's malware-detection abilities, the mobile app's limited feature set holds it back. At $29.99 per year for the stand-alone premium app, Norton Mobile Security is worth buying only when it's bundled into the multi-device, multi-platform Norton Security suite, which covers five computers or mobile devices for $79.99.
Many Windows users believe they don't need to pay for antivirus software, and most Mac and Android users think they don't need protection at all. It’s true that Windows' much higher profile makes it the biggest target, but OS X and Android are just as vulnerable to malware as Windows.
It's worth paying for Windows antivirus software, because even the best free software doesn't include features we consider essential. Mac and Android users have other options; our favorite Mac AV product costs nothing, and most Android security apps have free versions.
Windows Antivirus Software Types
Most antivirus makers have three tiers of Windows products, with each price bump adding extra features such as child protection or cloud backups. But since each company uses a single malware-detection engine for all its antivirus software, the cheapest item in any product line usually finds malware just as thoroughly as the priciest.
Not all users will need premium suites or even intermediate products. If you don't have kids or already have cloud storage, the "starter" product may be enough.
Starter or Entry-Level Windows Antivirus
The least expensive paid Windows antivirus products, which generally list from $40 to $60 per year, have the essentials. Definition updates and scans are automatic; websites and attachments are screened; and the products should be easy to use. Some starter AV programs toss in extra features, such as secure browsers or system optimizers, normally found in pricier products.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 matches flawless malware protection with an intuitive interface, and barely slows down a PC during malware scans. For a starter product, it's feature-rich, with a built-in rescue partition to fix severely infected systems and a hardened Web browser for secure online shopping and banking. Read the Full Review
Premium Windows Antivirus
Top-tier packages are often called suites because they do much more than catch malware. They might also have file encryption, secure online storage, a password manager or an ad blocker. As most cover multiple devices, they also frequently bundle in Mac and Android protection. For all this, you're meant to pay between $80 and $100 per year — but as with all paid antivirus software, discounts can often be found online.
Bitdefender Total Security 2015
Befitting its premium status, Bitdefender Total Security combines nearly perfect malware-detection rates with extra features such as a firewall, a spam blocker, parental controls, file encryption and cloud storage, as well as antitheft features for laptops. In our tests, Bitdefender Total Security had minimal performance impact. In addition, this software can help speed up your laptop using its OneClick Optimizer. Read the Full Review
Free Windows Antivirus
Free Windows antivirus products usually offer only bare-bones protection. Malware updates and scans must often be manually initiated, and there's little protection against malicious websites or email attachments. We can recommend some free Windows antivirus software, but don't rely on Microsoft's own products (Windows Defender/Microsoft Security Essentials). They simply don't catch enough malware.
Intermediate-priced Windows Antivirus
These products list from $60 to $80 per year. They generally build on the starter packages by adding parental controls, a spam filter or a two-way firewall to catch outgoing data. But for the full feature set, you'll have to pony up for the premium products.
Norton Security
Norton Security combines impeccable antimalware protections with a clear, intuitive interface, and covers up to five devices running Windows, OS X, Android or iOS. We're in the process of testing more intermediate-tier antivirus products, but for now, our pick in this category is Norton Security. For a bit more, you can opt for Norton Security with Backup, which adds secure online storage. Read the Full Review
Avira Free Antivirus
Free Windows antivirus products can't match paid protection, but Avira Free Antivirus comes close. It detects malware as well as most paid products, and has child protection and a scan scheduler. (It doesn't scan email attachments or Web links.) Best of all, Avira doesn't constantly nag you to upgrade to its paid version. Read the Full Review
Mac Antivirus
Despite what Apple's marketing has historically implied, Macs do get infected, and the amount of Mac malware has risen with Apple's share of the personal computer market. But there's less money in the Mac antivirus market, and the products are less standardized. Some Mac antivirus products are free, and some are paid: Of the products we evaluated, two free options came out on top. With that kind of recommendation, there's no reason for you not to run antivirus software on your Mac.
Android Antivirus Apps
Every Android device, whether smartphone, tablet or TV stick, should have antivirus software. Usually, that software comes with an all-encompassing security app that also includes anti-theft and remote-locating features.
The free versions of the Android security apps we reviewed are pretty solid. The paid versions, which cost between $15 and $30 per year, range from being just a bit better to becoming practically separate products, with a wide range of capabilities. For example, Avast Mobile Security offers geofencing and, for rooted phones, a firewall. You'll have to decide what you need and select accordingly.
Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus
Best Android Antivirus
This product's anti-malware protection is nearly perfect, but it was the breadth and scope of the extra features in Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus that blew us away. The app's free version alone is as comprehensive as some other security apps' paid versions, and Avast's premium version ($15 per year) includes everything from a privacy adviser to a customizable blacklist, and even has options for rooted phones. The app almost does too much, but the well-organized interface and support keep it user-friendly. Overall, Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus is our favorite Android security app. Read the Full Review
Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition
Best Mac Antivirus
Our top Mac antivirus product is absolutely free. Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition offers a variety of features such as scheduled scans, malicious-link protection, constant malware definition updates and an easy-to-use interface. Other Mac antivirus products are slightly better at spotting malware, but only Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition has all the features a user might want. Read the Full Review
How We Rate Antivirus Software
We evaluate antivirus software on three criteria: ease of installation and use, based on the reviewer's own experience; system impact, based on standardized benchmark tests; and malware detection, for which we use independent lab AV-TEST's periodic and detailed analyses. Malware detection is the most important factor, but we won't recommend a product if it's impossible to use or drastically slows down a computer or Android device.
We spend three to four hours testing and analyzing each piece of Windows antivirus software. For Android, the process takes an hour for each app.
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